JCPenney helps Rattlers ‘Suit-Up’

Students prepare for the upcoming career and internship expo, by purchasing professional attire at a discounted price from JCPenney. Photo courtesy: CPDC Instagram @hirearattler_

To help students prepare for the upcoming career and internship expo, the Career and Professional Development Center (CPDC) hosted its third annual JCPenney Suit-Up. The event took place from 5-8 p.m. Sunday.

Open exclusively for Florida A&M students, JCPenney offered an overwhelming amount of professional attire items to choose from for both men and women. All professional attire including pieces such as blouses, suits and shoes were marked down up to 60% off.

The vice president of Student Affairs, William Hudson, says a big part of the event is talking to students and serving them in any way possible.

“The best part of the event is assisting students and making sure they have appropriate attire for the career fair,” Hudson said. “Another great part of this is talking to every student that I can and helping them match up a suit properly.”

College students may struggle financially at times, and do not have the means to purchase the correct attire for professional events such as job fairs, so events like this make a huge difference. A senior engineering student who asked not to be identified, says shopping in JCPenney was a success. “I came in looking for dress pants for the engineering job fair and I was able to find some at a great price so I’m pretty happy with that.”

In addition to the discounts on apparel provided to students, there was a live DJ and giveaways throughout the evening.  All students who registered for the event in Handshake were automatically placed in a raffle to win JCPenney gift cards, with amounts ranging from $50 to $400. Sponsors for the gift cards included leadership from FAMU and Enterprise.

Employer relations coordinator Mia Zeigler says students should expect the event twice a year. “This event was specifically created with the job fair in mind,” Zeigler said. “We will hold another event just like this before the spring expo, on January 23, 2023.”

The career and internship expo will be held on Wednesday, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Lawson Center. Additionally, there will be a virtual career and internship expo from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday.

Anyone who hoped to make the event but couldn’t, is still eligible for a partial discount on professional attire through the rest of the semester. To receive a coupon, students must visit the CPDC office located in the CASS building, in suite 309.