On Oct, 9, New York Institute of Technology celebrated the official grand opening of Tech Threads at ribbon-cutting events on the Old Westbury and New York City campuses.
Tech Threads is an inclusive on-campus “professional closet” providing students with no-cost access to new and gently used career clothing and accessories for interviews, career fairs, networking events, the workplace and other career-related experiences. The initiative helps to remove financial barriers that may prevent students from looking and feeling their best during professional encounters. Clothing and accessories are primarily donated through the generosity of New York Tech staff, students, faculty, alumni and external community members.
While professional closets at many universities require students to return items, Tech Threads allows New York Tech students to keep clothing and accessories. The Tech Threads inventory may include suits, dresses, skirts, button-down shirts, dress pants, ties, shoes, belts, scarves, jewelry, and other accessories.
Tech Threads was spearheaded by the Office of Student Engagement and Development and is managed by Career Success and Experiential Education, which began accepting donations from the New York Tech community in the spring 2024 semester. The team has also recently started building relationships with local employers and members of the outside community to ideally receive donations from them as well.
The professional closet’s day-to-day operations are run by New York Tech students who serve as “Tech Threads consultants,” gaining valuable on-the-job skills that will benefit them when they enter the workforce.
“In helping their peers dress for success, consultants also prepare for their own future careers,” Chigozie Henry Umeaku, a Mechanical Engineering, B.S. student who oversees Tech Threads consultants on the Long Island campus, said. “Whether they are handling inventory or helping to spread the word to students and donors, they gain valuable resume experience, hone time management and organizational skills and build relationships with mentors from the Office of Career Success and Experiential Education.”
Umeaku was among the speakers at the Long Island ceremony, where he also assisted Dean of Students Felipe Henao, Associate Provost Francesca Fiore and Associate Director of Employer Relations Lynn Hart, in cutting the ribbon.
Students can make an appointment via Handshake to shop the career closet, which is located on the Old Westbury campus in the Student Activity Center room 132 and in New York City at 26 W. 61st St., room 021. Donations can be dropped off at the Office of Career Success and Experiential Education on each campus.
Tech Threads is one of multiple support resources that New York Tech has launched in recent years to help address barriers and financial constraints that can stand in the way of students’ success. This includes the Grizzly Cupboard, which offers students access to free, nonperishable food items and toiletries, initiatives providing grants and financial assistance, and a variety of resources aimed at fostering the success of first-generation students.
