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Campus Life
Students Shop for Career Success
Getting ready for a job interview can be stressful enough — but what if you don’t have anything to wear?
This year, 38 students got new interview clothes, thanks to USF’s Career Services Center.
One of those students, Nikaella “Nika” Mariano ’26, MSN ’27, said she was glad to learn about the career center’s Clothing Fund for Career Readiness. Made possible by a grant from the Enterprise Mobility Foundation, the philanthropy behind Enterprise Rent-A-Car, the fund gave students up to $100 to augment their professional wardrobes.
In the past, eligible students received a stipend to go shopping in person. But this year the career center did things a little differently.
“We shifted from in-person shopping to online fulfillment and tied participation to a career recruiting event,” said Alex Hochman, senior director of the Career Services Center. That way, students not only got the clothes they needed but also met employers and learned about career opportunities.
Mariano said she was grateful to purchase a pair of Dr. Martens Mary Janes, which she’s worn to every interview and to the closing ceremony of her 10-week summer internship in the emergency department at Duke University Hospital in North Carolina.
“I’ve always borrowed my mother’s clothes for interviews, which makes me feel like I’m carrying her legacy with me as I move forward — but we’re different shoe sizes!” she said.
Mariano said she hopes to one day pass down what she now thinks of as her lucky shoes to her own children.
“I wanted to invest in a pair that would last a long time, through many interviews and, hopefully, jobs! Thanks to Career Services, I was able to do that.”