Emporia State Career Services closed applications for their recurring Classroom to Career program on Sept. 11, which prepares students for post-grad success. Informally known as “the suit program,” the Classroom to Career program leads students through a professional development course and, if completed, rewards them with a free suit or professional dress outfit(s).
Program applications are open to juniors and seniors of any major with a 2.5 GPA or above.
“Students answer questions about professional development and their interest and desire to (go through professional development), and the importance of that,” said Career Services Associate Director Joel Ewy, “then we select candidates based off those applications.”
A committee grades applications, and candidates are selected based on those scores. Career Services will place students on a waitlist if they are not selected for the program.
“We try to really … look at students that express the desire and interest in improving their professional development,” Ewy continued, “and also those students that have financial need.”
If selected, students must complete the self-paced professional development course on Canvas. Although it is a Canvas course, it is not a university course. Therefore, it is not worth credit hours, nor does it appear on a transcript or affect GPA.
The course has checkpoints to determine if students are on track to complete the course or if it would be better to offer their spot to someone on the waitlist if they cannot complete activities. Development activities in the course include building a resume, creating profiles on LinkedIn and Handshake, learning successful job search strategies, practicing interview skills and dressing professionally.
“By the time (students) are done with the program, they’ve got a resume that’s ready to use with an employer for job applications or internship applications and they’ve done a practice interview, … and (they have) a LinkedIn profile that will attract employers and that they can use to network,” said Ewy. “And then … that suit is kind of the end product of all that hard work.”
Career Services partners with Macy’s at Oak Park Mall in Overland Park to provide students with suits or professional dress outfits. Professional stylists travel to ESU’s campus to take accurate measurements and give students options and suggestions that fit each individual’s needs and personal style. Then, Macy’s will ship the clothing to the students.
“It’s almost unanimous feedback that (students) are so grateful that they did the program,” Ewy said. “Not just because they got the suit, but because of the skills they learned- like coming out of there with a resume that you know is ready to go … and to learn how to do an interview. Those are really important skills.”
Despite all the positive feedback, Career Services is always looking for ways to improve and make the Classroom to Career program as beneficial as possible to those who enter. According to Ewy, a post-program survey asks students questions about what went well or what they can change for the better. Career Services takes those suggestions and adjusts the program to fit students’ needs better.
Previously, the program was only open once a year, with the course spanning from October to February. However, Career Services will offer the Career to Classroom program each semester starting this school year.
“Maybe a student was a senior graduating in December,” explained Ewy, “then they couldn’t finish the program because they were graduated by the end of it. We just wanted to open up the access more- to try to just give more students an opportunity to do it.”
Applications open shortly after the start of the semester, and once Career Services selects candidates, they have approximately two months to complete the professional development course before a visit from Macy’s stylists to choose their suit or outfits. Ewy foresees the Spring 2025 application opening from the end of January to the beginning of February, and he encourages students to apply even if the program did not accept them for the Fall.
However, the continuity of this program is not guaranteed. Career Services relies on donors to fund this program.
“Our money is not really guaranteed year to year, but we’re finding ways to keep (the program) going. The more money we have, the more student access we can (offer),” Ewy said.
Ewy is hopeful for the future of the Classroom to Career program, saying, “One of my dreams is for this program to be a program that’s available to every student (that goes to ESU) to participate in during their time here.”
