Students in the education programs spend a great deal of time teaching in local classrooms, attending educational events, interviewing for future teaching positions and engaging with other teachers, administrators and parents.
Appropriate attire is essential in these situations as our future teachers represent themselves and Washburn University, but many of our students have limited funds to build their professional wardrobes. Therefore, the education department plans to open a Professional Clothes Closet for our students to borrow professional clothing and accessories for special events. These Ichabods will be able to borrow men’s and women’s suits, slacks, ties, dress shoes and other items.
This model has been successfully implemented at public libraries and other university campuses around the country, and we believe that providing this resource to our students will remove the financial and mental strain associated with obtaining professional clothing on a limited budget. Funding is needed to purchase the initial items, but the closet will continue to grow through clothing donations from members of the Washburn and Topeka communities.
