Pressley gives the Post her take on the importance of college clothing closets in breaking down barriers to entry in the workplace.
Mercy alumna Kamrin Pressley ’22, a Bronx native who now works at Mercy’s Bronx Campus as a graduate school PACT mentor, was featured in a New York Post story on the essential service that college clothing closets provide to students – particularly those from low-income households.
Pressley benefited from Mercy College’s Career Closet, run by the Mercy College Career and Professional Development team, on several occasions. She utilized the Closet’s services, as the recipient of a suit, many shirts and shoes. Pressley also volunteered to help promote the Closet in several ways, once by participating in the Career and Professional Development program, “Dress for Success as Your Authentic Self.” During the event, she modeled a suit from the Career Closet, which she then used for job interviews.
In the New York Post article, Pressley notes the important role that career closets have in eliminating obstacles for college students who are entering the workforce: “When some college students think about the high cost of clothes, they worry...if you don't have the funds or the means to dress the part, that can set you back.”
Pressley also believes that the Mercy College Career Closet is an integral part of a student’s career preparation journey and can further enable students from all backgrounds to feel confident and succeed.
More About the Mercy College Career Closet:
The Mercy College Career Closet, located on Mercy’s Bronx Campus, offers free professional clothing to Mercy students to wear to interviews or their workplace. Attire is a key component of a student's professional image, brand, and reputation, and can be a determining factor in their career success. Professional clothing is expensive, and not everyone has access to a suit or outfit that will make them competitive in interviews. Mercy removes this systemic barrier to success by allowing students to take, and keep, a suit they can wear to interviews and on the job. A true community effort, the Career Closet is primarily run through donations of lightly used professional clothing from faculty, staff, and our neighbors, supplemented by limited purchases of brand-new attire.
For more information on how to obtain professional attire, or to donate, please contact Lyn Leis at lleis@mercy.edu.
More About Pressley:
During her time at Mercy, Pressley was also a patron of and volunteered with the Mav Market. Watch this video or read this Maverick Magazine story to learn more about how the Mav Market helped Pressley at a critical time, and how Pressley helped Mercy students through the Mav Market,