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.

Knowing the proper fork to use, the correct way to pass a basket of rolls, or which entrée to order can sometimes make a difference when trying to land a new job.

For the past sixteen years, °®Ç鵺ÂŰĚł has offered an etiquette dinner to teach students manners appropriate to a professional setting, particularly if they find themselves sitting down to break bread with someone they’re trying to impress.

The event, hosted by °®Ç鵺ÂŰĚł Career Services, includes a free, four-course meal and fills up quickly every year, with a waitlist to boot.

The experience helps students shed their reservations about what can be a high-pressure situation.

“The majority of the students that participate in this program really walk away learning something new, whether it be what fork to use, what knife to use, how to engage in conversations with professionals, how to network, really how to present themselves,” said Katie Vagen, °®Ç鵺ÂŰĚł Career Services assistant director. “This is a program that we run year-to-year because students continually like to attend,”

More than 50 students registered for this year’s etiquette dinner to learn about place settings, how to use a spoon when eating a bowl of soup (hint, don’t slurp), the importance of solid handshake, and that a cloth napkin should never, under any circumstance, be used as a tissue.

A group of alumni were also present, each positioned at a table where they networked and talked with students.

As an undergraduate six years ago, Stephen Wahome, ’13, attended the event and said the information he gained has remained applicable.

“In my line of work as a financial advisor a lot of meetings are done to make the client feel comfortable, so a meeting may be held in a house, a coffee shop, or at a big dinner,” Wahome said. “It’s always good to present yourself in the right light. How to use a fork or the proper etiquette at a formal event is good to know.”

While the free dinner was certainly a motivator to register, Madalyn Maloney, ’19, said she was also excited to learn.

“I believe manners are very important,” she said. “It makes a difference when you are talking to someone.”

For °®Ç鵺ÂŰĚł to offer opportunities like this is exciting, added Beyonnie Whitaker, ’22.

“I personally feel that etiquette is a dying art because this generation doesn’t take manners very seriously,” she said. “I feel we need to learn manners because most of our interviews will be with someone older, that you need to respect.”

Instilling confidence in students so they can find success is why °®Ç鵺ÂŰĚł continues to offer the dinner.

“Students really learn what to expect, how to prepare, and how to succeed,” Vagen said. “It allows them to move forward after Bridgewater with that confidence right in their back pocket.”

Or, in a doggie bag.

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

After graduating from °®Ç鵺ÂŰĚł, many alumni have jobs lined up due in part to their participation in various internship programs.

One such program is the , an independent non-profit organization that provides academic and professional opportunities for college students and recent graduates from all over the world.

Heidi Belanger, ’15, took part in the program as an undergraduate and speaks highly of the experience.

“It’s a great program that not a lot of students know about. It’s a great alternative to studying abroad,” she said.

Through the TWC internship, students travel and live in Washington, D.C., to work in a field that interests them within government, nonprofit and private sectors.

Destiny Ihenacho, ’16, interned with , a nonprofit dedicated to global debt relief, where he interacted with high-profile individuals like Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi.

“It was eye opening,” he said. “My job as an operational intern included recruiting interns. I also represented Jubilee USA at conferences, the White House, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and Capitol Hill.”

Stephanie Janeczek, ’18, lived in D.C. in the summer of 2017, while she interned as a graphic designer with .

STEMconnector’s mission is to strengthen the STEM pipeline from elementary school to the workforce and ensure what students learn in school is still relevant when they seek employment.

“This internship definitely helped put my career into perspective. I learned a lot about the work environment I was in. It was extremely fast paced,” Janeczek said. “It made me realize I wanted to be in a more relaxed work atmosphere.”

Internships in general help build a network, which is paramount in exploring career opportunities.

“Quite frankly, everything after graduation is networking,” Ihenacho said. “My internship taught me to be innovative and to always be looking out for myself. Nothing is ever handed to you unless your hand is up.”

Current °®Ç鵺ÂŰĚł student and political science major Chris Connelly participated in the D.C. internship program this past spring at , an accounting and advisory organization, and offers up these three tips to future interns.

1. Don’t be afraid to ask questions.
2. Try to problem solve on your own before going to other team members.
3. Be open minded. You’re going to meet a lot of people with varying opinions. I learned to put my own feelings aside for the betterment of the company. 

For more information about internship program at The Washington Center contact Internship Program Director Diane Bell in the Rondileau Campus Center, room 204, or by calling 508-531-2632.

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

My internship taught me to be innovative and to always be looking out for myself. Nothing is ever handed to you unless your hand is up.

Project enhances use of space and energy efficiency

“All of the changes we are making are in line with strategic priorities of the school, each can be tied back to student success,” said Thomas O’Connor, director of capital planning for operations.

As a building gets older, sometimes a facelift is necessary to not only maintain the structure but to also make it more energy efficient and to better utilize the space, O’Connor said.

Changes to the building will be done in phases and include converting the former Bridgewater Dining Room into a new suite for the career services internship program, as well as offices for student government.

Senior and elementary education major Brianna Audette of Somerset said the changes are “awesome.”

“It’s really great that °®Ç鵺ÂŰĚł is making these upgrades and creating new work spaces and environments for both workers and students to enjoy,” she said.

The windows, which date back to the 1960’s, will be replaced in three phases and a new central air system will be installed.

Also included in the renovation are a litany of communication technology repairs and upgrades, as well as an ongoing introduction of sprinklers throughout the building.

One of the biggest but less obvious changes involves taking the building off of the central steam system and installing a stand-alone heat plant within the campus center.

“It will be more efficient and a cost savings for the institution,” O’Connor said.

The state is covering the cost of the project.

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

All of the changes we are making are in line with strategic priorities of the school, each can be tied back to student success.

Employers at Job and Internship Fair praise °®Ç鵺ÂŰĚł and its students

Here at °®Ç鵺ÂŰĚł, we know our students are shining stars set for success in whatever career they choose. But don’t just take our word for it.

Representatives of some of the more than 120 employers at °®Ç鵺ÂŰ̳’s recent Job and Internship Fair heaped praise on the university for producing a steady stream of strong candidates.

Here’s what these recruiters – and fellow Bears – had to say:

“I think students here are great and the science department is really growing. …They’re super smart. (°®Ç鵺ÂŰĚł) sets them up well, especially for kids who are looking to come out of the lab here at Bridgewater and get into a lab like at Boston Children’s Hospital.” – Jeff Motta, ’95 (education), senior recruiter, research, Boston Children’s Hospital

“This fair is probably one of the best that we do throughout the year. The students actually come prepared. They come dressed for the parts that they want to interview for. Probably the best thing about Bridgewater is the . (Students) come to us ready and a lot more prepared for interviews even though they maybe have never interviewed before.” – Eric Newcomb, ’07 (criminal justice), human resources business partner, HarborOne Bank

“Bridgewater really makes you work for your grade. They really make you work for the things you want in life, so when I went into my own job, I was working really hard all the time.” – Nalya McFarlane, ’18 (management and marketing), marketing coordinator, Cox Engineering

“I feel like the Accounting Department really sets you up for a strong background in accounting and you really see that through our firm and how Bridgewater alums progress through our firm.” – Katherine Hartnett, ’14 (accounting and finance), supervising senior auditor, Daniel Dennis & Company

“I think the students who come here, they take their studies seriously. I was a night learner, so it’s great that they offer that to students. It’s flexible.” – Daniela Colley, ’18 (general business management), human resources assistant, Brockton Neighborhood Health Center

“We have a strong representation of Bridgewater alums and they’re all in management roles. ... I think it’s the openness to fields, to positions, to jobs, the willingness to learn and the willingness to embrace change. And they just come out well-rounded students.” – Nick Marotta, ’18 (business management), global operations improvement manager, TBR Global Chauffeuring

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

We have a strong representation of Bridgewater alums and they’re all in management roles. ... I think it’s the openness to fields, to positions, to jobs, the willingness to learn and the willingness to embrace change. And they just come out well-rounded students.