Landing a job or internship can be tough. Not only do job applicants need the right level of education, experience, and skills, but for many legal employers, they also need to look the part. That’s where the University of the Pacific’s Career Closet comes into play on the Sacramento Campus. This free resource provides students with professional attire for interviews, job fairs, and other career-related events.

The Sacramento Campus Career Closet got its start back in 2018, under the direction of McGeorge School of Law’s Career Services Office (CSO). Staff in the department aimed to help low-income students acquire professional attire such as shoes, suits, blouses, jewelry, etc. for their next career-related event.

“I did not have a suit. A friend once had to take me to Nordstrom Rack with the very little money I had,” Adjunct Professor and former Assistant Dean of Career Development Molly Stafford said. “It was very stressful for me at the time, and it motivated me to make the vision of this closet happen due to my experience having to figure this all out.”

Stafford explained that the Career Closet started off small and expanded over time. The CSO initially lent a small amount of donated clothes to law students for their use at events where professional attire was required.

“With this closet at the time, we would help with the student's look and also have a one-on-one with them as well as connecting with them on a personal level to figure out what was needed,” Stafford said.

In 2023, the Career Closet was given a permanent location on campus. The closet is located on the second floor of the Student Center, where students can browse and get what they need by appointment. Everything in the closet was donated by alumni or members of the campus community, and all the clothes are dry cleaned before being displayed. Students have the option to keep the professional attire or return it after their event is over. 

The Sacramento Campus Career Closet provides clothes for all students enrolled in Sacramento Campus academic programs.

A new helping hand to the closet, Program Coordinator Rydder Kramer, explains that their main goals are to get the word out about this Career Closet because many students do not yet know it exists. Another goal is to continue improving the space and eventually expand.

“A lot of these students are taking out loans for school or coming straight from undergrad and don’t have a lot of financial resources,” Kramer said. “The clothes in this closet are 100 percent free. I believe while students are here, they need to take advantage of it.”

In addition, Jeramy Young, ’23, assists the Career Closet through his former employment at Men's Wearhouse, where he still maintains a strong relationship with the company to assist students with alterations should they be required.

“My former manager told me when the Career Closet opened up that he would be willing to accommodate alterations for students,” Young said. "Alterations are charged per seam. Some alterations are $10, some can be as much as $50. It just depends on what needs to be done. That being said, the alterations they make are guaranteed. Once you pay for a seam the first time, you don't pay a second.”

Interested parties can reach Young by e-mail at j_young31@u.pacific.edu or by phone at (702) 526-7272, and he will coordinate alterations assistance.

In order to schedule an appointment or obtain additional information about the career closet, you can contact the McGeorge's Career Services Office at lawcareers@pacific.edu or Coordinator of Academic & Student Services Kelli Sarnowski at ksarnowski@pacific.edu.

For more information about McGeorge School of Law, visit our website.

Media Contacts:

• Ashley Golledge, Director of Marketing and Communications, agolledge@pacific.edu, 916.325.4687
• Victoria Ambriz, Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications, vambriz@pacific.edu, 916.325.4631
• Alex Banks, Communications Coordinator, abanks@pacific.edu, 916.520.7479