VCU news

By James Irwin

Derek Hetrick lined up a series of job interviews last fall. His resume and sales pitch were ready. All he was missing was a suit. 

“I didn’t have any professional dress attire and I was not in a financial position to buy a suit,” said Hetrick, a junior in the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business. “There’s a lot of preparation that goes into an interview. And the first obstacle I came across was, ‘What do I wear?’”

Hetrick went to the VCU Career Services office, which operates a closet for students who need professional clothing for interviews and career fairs. He didn’t find anything in his size. He went to CARITAS, the social services organization, which runs a similar program, and found a gray suit to wear to the interviews.

“I had never worn a suit before,” Hetrick said. “When I put on that suit, it made me feel so much more credible. It gave me a lot of extra confidence to be able to walk into a room and feel like I fit in.”

Now Hetrick is looking to spread that feeling of confidence. He is helping organize an event March 25 that will provide VCU students with a 40 percent discount shopping day at JCPenney to purchase suits, dresses, sport coats, dress pants, shoes and professional dress accessories. The event, “Suit Up,” will take place from 6:30-9:30 p.m. at the White Oak Village JCPenney, 4541 S. Laburnum Ave., and is co-sponsored by VCU Career Services.

“It gives us a chance to offer a deep discount on their items,” said Jeanette Hickl, assistant director of career and industry advising in the career services office.

Hickl, who worked with JCPenney to plan the event, is passionate about providing suits to students. She manages VCU’s “Suit Yourself” closet, a converted meeting room in Suite 143 of the University Student Commons. The closet is stocked with donated professional clothing from individuals and businesses alike. However, it has its limitations, Hickl said. Inventory is constantly changing (students may keep the items they select). The event with JCPenney is a way to offer a wider range of professional attire, Hickl said.

“It’s a well-established partnership that JCPenney has with colleges and universities,” she said. “We’ll be offering free transportation, with pickup and return at Cabell Library. We’re also going to have the Gold Rush dancers and VCU banners at the event — almost a pep-rally feel. We are trying to have a DJ and put our own stamp on it.”

Hetrick, meanwhile, is helping publicize the “Suit Up” event on campus through his membership in the VCU chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants. He and Hickl met last fall, around the time he was searching for his first suit. They have been working together since to build relationships with local and regional employers and add inventory to the “Suit Yourself” closet.

“What was interesting about Derek is he left here not getting what he was looking for — a suit — but he came back with ideas to help make [the closet] better,” Hickl said. “That was so exciting for me, to build that relationship. He’s one of those great representations of the VCU student — that grit, and drive and motivation. I really appreciate how much he wants to make an impact.”

Hetrick said he and at least 10 friends from NABA will be volunteering at Sunday’s “Suit Up” event.

“I’m really invested in getting suits to students — I’m looking forward to helping the person who wasn’t in a financial position to buy a suit,” Hetrick said. “For me, it wasn’t so much having the suit, it was the way I felt when I put it on. It made me feel like I was a professional. If I can witness that at least once [at the event] that would be awesome." 

When I put on that suit, it made me feel so much more credible. It gave me a lot of extra confidence to be able to walk into a room and feel like I fit in.

Hetrick has a busy six months ahead of him. He wore his gray suit to nine interviews last fall and received eight internship and externship offers. He currently works at The Roseline Financial Group in downtown Richmond. This summer, he will complete a 10-week internship with KPMG and participate in the company’s Future Diversity Leaders program.

He now owns a few suits, but the gray one from CARITAS remains his favorite.

“At the time it was the only suit I had,” Hetrick said. “It definitely means a lot to me.”

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