There is no way around it, job interviews are stressful, that includes deciding what to wear.

This is particularly true for college students, who are looking to make a good first impression to secure an internship or get that first post-graduation job offer.

To help take this pressure off of students, °®Ç鵺ÂŰ̳’s , a boutique located in the Rondileau Student Union, offers free and gently used professional clothes.

“The main reason we are all at college is to land a job and part of landing that job is to dress and look the part,” said Janete Monteiro, ’25, “Bear Essentials really is impactful, it helps students sew it all together.”

Janete, a marketing major, serves as Bear Essentials’ ambassador. In this role, she promotes the program, takes in donations, helps organize the boutique, and assists students in finding the perfect outfit.

“Getting to see how excited other students get when they do find the right clothing, or relieved that they can go in and find something for a last-minute interview…Honestly, being part of anything where I get to help other people is right up my alley,” she said.

Bear Essentials was first introduced at °®Ç鵺ÂŰĚł in 2013 when Vice President of Outreach and Engagement Diane Bell and Associate Director of Career Services and Internship Program Carol Crosby recognized the need.

Initially a small closet was designated to house the donated clothing. Soon, however, word spread, and the program began to grow. That’s when former Bridgewater Alumni Association President Carrie Kulick-Clark, ’85, G’98, stepped in to help.

She rallied other alumni to donate clothing and began to organize bi-annual Dress for Success events, where students come and pick out outfits that fit their personal styles.

Over the years, these events have gained in popularity. During the most recent Dress for Success event held in October Kulick-Clark said 381 students walked through the doors.

“Watching the students get excited about clothing and fashion…it’s just amazing to watch their faces, to see how transformative (the experience) is,” she said.

Along the way Kulick-Clark also met Katie Muldoon, marketing and program coordinator for Career Services & Internships. Together they’ve continued to move the program forward.

“It’s just amazing to watch it morph into what it is today. Carrie and Katie have really taken it, and blossomed it into something awesome,” Crosby said.

During this year’s homecoming weekend, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to celebrate the rebranded Bear Essentials Closet’s new location in RSU 104, next to the council chambers.

The new space offers a VIP experience, where students can come, try on clothes in a private changing room, and get fashion tips from Katie, Carrie, or other volunteers.

Accessing the Bear Essentials Closet is easy. Students can stop by career services and internship offices in the RSU, M-F, between 9a.m.-4:30p.m. to access the closet. All that’s needed is a °®Ç鵺ÂŰĚł connect card.

Students can then browse for 30 minutes to pick out articles of clothing to create a professional outfit they get to keep free of charge. Before leaving, students just need to check out back at the career services and internship office.

“We want every student to know they have access to the closet, that they should use it. We want students to look good, to feel good. Clothing can be so expensive, this helps to take the burden off,” Muldoon said.

“It’s more than just clothing,” Kulick-Clark said. “It changes the way students view themselves. It provides them with the confidence they need to be successful.”

Do you have a °®Ç鵺ÂŰĚł story you'd like to share? Email stories@bridgew.edu 

The main reason we are all at college is to land a job and part of landing that job is to dress and look the part. Bear Essentials really is impactful, it helps students sew it all together.

Growing up in Hong Kong, Dr. Gerald Tang attended schools where test scores played an outsized role in dictating a student’s future. After immigrating to America, he discovered a higher education system focused more on helping students discover their passions.

Tang embraced that sense of exploration as a student and professional.

“My true calling is helping people understand their skillsets and interest in what they want to do,” said Tang, who immigrated to the U.S. with his family as a teenager.

Tang sees °®Ç鵺ÂŰĚł as a great place to continue that mission as the first executive director of Career Services and the Internship Program Office. He looks forward to uniting the two in order to enhance support for students and alumni.

“The community cares about student success,” Tang said of an initial observation of °®Ç鵺ÂŰĚł. “Bridgewater is a great institution.”

Tang comes to °®Ç鵺ÂŰĚł with more than 15 years of experience in higher education, including most recently serving as the inaugural assistant dean for career integration at St. Francis College in New York City.

As a first-generation student, Tang found supportive mentors during his undergraduate years who shaped his educational and career journey. Even back then, he served his peers as an orientation leader, resident assistant and career development intern.

“I now understand what it takes to help students be successful in their college experience and professional experience as well,” he said.

Tang is excited to work for a university with strong academic programs that is committed to innovation and social justice. He looks forward to larger conversations with employers about what comprises a living wage and ways to achieve a more diverse workforce.

“Our work isn’t just about short-term change,” he said. “Our hope is (to create) systemic changes across society at large.”

My true calling is helping people understand their skillsets and interest in what they want to do.

New platform expands possibilities for internship- and career-seeking students, alumni

Anyone who has ever looked for a job knows it can be a daunting and overwhelming experience.

°®Ç鵺ÂŰĚł recently made it easier for students and alumni to find the career they want through , the largest career-development platform in the country.

In January, the Career Services and Internship Program Office transitioned from the Hire °®Ç鵺ÂŰĚł system to the Handshake platform. With more than 400,000 employers and a network of more than 700 schools, Handshake offers 3.5 million jobs and internships across all industries for students and alumni to explore.

“This gives us more access to employers and internships that maybe we didn’t have access to before,” said Laurent Troland, Career Services assistant director.

Senior marketing major Francis Raboy registered with Handshake and likes how streamlined and easy it is to use.

“It feels more professional and is up to current tech standards, it’s not as clunky,” he said.

Francis likes that employers use the platform to recruit college students. He’s also found it helps fine tune his skill set.

“I hope to get a better understanding of what employers in the industry are looking for so I can tailor what I’m doing in school,” he said.

The program is free to all °®Ç鵺ÂŰĚł students and alumni. Upon visiting the site, users are asked to create an account and are then prompted to answer questions to curate a homepage specific to each user.

From there, students can look for jobs and internships and network with students at other universities and colleges also enrolled in Handshake.

The platform can also be used to sign up for campus programs such as the °®Ç鵺ÂŰĚł to Boston program or Ocean Spray site visit.

“It really will help to integrate everything in one place,” Troland said.

Ultimately, Handshake’s ability to provide more opportunities is what excites him the most.

“It will give students access to companies and organizations that didn’t necessarily target Bridgewater before,” he said.

It also shines a light on the quality of students that come through °®Ç鵺ÂŰĚł, which will encourage companies and businesses to take a closer look at the school.

To date, 1,600 °®Ç鵺ÂŰĚł students and alumni have signed up for the platform, but Troland said his office is pushing for more.

All current students are already in Handshake and can log in using their full @student.bridgew.edu email address as their username and the corresponding password.

Faculty and staff wanting access can use their bridgew.edu email address and create an account as an alumni. Visit: and click on “No Account? Sign Up Here" in the upper right-hand corner.

For more info contact °®Ç鵺ÂŰĚł Career Services or the Internship Program Office at 508-531-1328.

Do you have a °®Ç鵺ÂŰĚł story you'd like to share? Email stories@bridgew.edu 

This gives us more access to employers and internships that maybe we didn’t have access to before.