Abstract

My Impact project will be to create a website for the Miami Dade College North Campus Career Closet. As of now, the Career Closet has no advertising of its service and most students don't know when it is open, or if it will be open when they need it. Hence, I'd like to design a website that features its opening schedule, as well as having a database of what pieces of clothing it has. I am currently learning web development through the INIT workshops to help me gain the knowledge to lead this project. As the director of marketing for INIT, I have pitched the idea for the Career Closet website, and others have agreed to help make this happen. Hopefully, by next year, this website will be completed and be part of the MDC main website as a more well-known campus service.

Impact Project Proposal

The next step for most students after graduation is to get a job. To get hired, students would have to be interviewed and part of that process is to look professionally. However, due to expensive tuition, some students don't have or can't afford professional clothing, which can be a detriment to securing a position in today's competitive job market. Fortunately, colleges around the world found a way to solve this problem: career closets. This service would provide students with professional attire at very little or no cost whether it's used for an interview, a presentation, or day-to-day job use depending on if their career closet allows them to keep the clothing. Career closets are vital to help students dress for success and shape the start of their careers.

According to Dressing for Success by Johanna Alonso, Hofstra University has a career closet that first started as a schoolwide event that allows students to receive professional clothing. Due to its success, Hofstra created a permanent location where students book a 15-minute appointment and select clothes for free. It is sponsored by different clothing companies that advertise their clothing through the career closet and provide job listings via the university's career closet website. A student from Hofstra University, Ashlei Rivera, stated that she works multiple jobs to pay for her tuition and living, so she can't afford professional attire for her upcoming job interview. Luckily, the career closet has helped her find a free designer dress so she can participate in her interview without worrying about spending an arm and a leg.

Miami Dade College also has career closets on its different campuses, however, there's not much information about them. The North campus career closet had an opening ceremony on January 17, 2024, which was a good promotion, but not many people were there. And for the people in attendance, I'm sure that they only came for the food. Aside from that, there is no other information that tells students that the career closet is a service for them. From the very few resources that I have gathered, the Career Closet is open on most Miami Dade College campuses including, North, Kendall, and Hialeah. As previously stated, the purpose of the Career Closet is to give students professional attire for a job interview, a conference, and/or a presentation. According to the MDC website, the Career Closet partners with Single Stop and Miguel B. Fernandez Family School of Global Business, Trade, and Transportation. By watching several Facebook and Instagram posts, I discovered that students could go to the Career Closet by making an appointment with their career works advisor. I had to read through several resources to find that shred of information.

I believe that a website exclusively for the MDC Career Closet can solve the problem of scattered, limited information. Its home page can provide an overview of its mission and the dates and times it is open without an advisor. This would make the process of finding professional wear more time efficient. This website can show students the wide variety of clothes offered, and if it has their size or preferences (colors, patterns, accessories, etc.) An option to donate money or clothes should also be present to allow the Career Closet to prosper and expand. Similar to Hofstra University, our career closet can advertise clothing from different companies and receive sponsorships for them, as well as their job listings so students can view and apply to them on this proposed website.

I plan to do this with the help of one of the MDC student organizations, INIT. INIT is a non-profit organization that empowers under-represented communities to launch successful careers in technology. They establish different chapters in schools and colleges, like MDC and FIU, and provide free learning and career development programs for everyone. I became involved with INIT after participating in their Wed Development and Technical Interview workshops and enlisted to become an executive board member as the director of marketing. During one of the e-board meetings, I pitched this idea to my fellow board members, and they agreed to help this become one of the INIT projects that will benefit our campus. Javier Bracho, one of the e-board members who works in MDC North campus learning resources and software-IT engineer, offered to become my advisor. We will first design a website for the career closet. Then, we will create a database of the different clothes offered. Finally, we will add different resources about the career closet and make it available to the public. We have not decided whether to have only the e-board members participate in this project, or to recruit students who would want to partake in this, but we do plan to launch this website by next year.