NHTI Provides Students With Free Business Attire

As graduation looms for college students across the state, many are getting ready for job interviews, but finding the appropriate clothing for interviews, internships, and other professional opportunities can be difficult as well as expensive. To help students look their best, NHTI – Concord’s Community College opened Lynx Closet, which offers business attire for free.

“We are thrilled to provide this on-campus resource for our students,” says Elizabeth Lawton, NHTI’s administrative assistant to the president and leader of the Lynx Closet initiative. “I’m so proud of our efforts to put this space together, and for all of the departments that contributed to make it happen. Clothing can be expensive, and professional clothing even more so. To be able to provide it free of charge adds a vital resource to our campus and allows us to go above and beyond to serve our students and empower their success.”

Located in Little Hall next to the established Lynx Pantry, the Lynx Closet offers workplace-appropriate clothing, including suits, dresses, shoes, bags, and accessories, for all genders and in a variety of sizes. Students can take the clothing free of charge whenever the Lynx Closet is open. The clothing is gathered via donations from the NHTI community, including a initial push donated by the NHTI chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa international honor society.

“Clothing insecurity is a pervasive issue in our community, and we do not want a single student feeling as though they are unable to search for and accept employment due to a lack of professional clothing,” says NHTI President Patrick Tompkins. “The success of our students is paramount, and this new free on-campus resource gives our students and recent graduates options to help them be successful.”

The Lynx Closet joins the Lynx Pantry, the on-campus food pantry established in 2019 that offers all campus community members access to non-perishable, shelf-stable food, personal care items and perishable (fruits, vegetables, bread, refrigerated, and frozen) food options.

NHTI’s Lynx Closet is part of an initiative from the President’s Office and includes financial contributions from our NHTI Community and from the Community College System of NH. It joins other professional clothing providers within the Community College System of NH, such as the Community Marketplace located at Lakes Region Community College. The grand opening of the space was held March 21. Donations, both financial and clothing, are currently being accepted by Lawton in NHTI’s President’s Office. Please contact elawton@ccsnh.edu for additional information.