Stitched with generosity

Alumni help create confidence-building style of career center’s Freeman Professional Closet

Angie Freeman (from left), ’91; Pancratz Career Development Center Director Kathy Lund, ’15; and Russ Freeman, ’89, stand in the Freeman Professional Closet, a part of the Nistler College of Business & Public Administration at UND. The Freemans’ generosity helped expand the closet, which today is a large room outfitted beautifully to display a range of professional clothing items. Photo courtesy of UND Alumni Association & Foundation.

Editor’s note: This story originally appeared on the website of the UND Alumni Association & Foundation.

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By Stephanie Schultz

When UND junior Kyra Younce needs to make a strong impression, she turns to her favorite item from the Freeman Professional Closet: a black-and-white striped blazer. “I just love it,” she said. “It’s the perfect amount of ‘fun’ for me. I wear it all the time.”

That blazer has become her go-to, earning her compliments every time she wears it. The information systems and accounting major chose it for her interview with Ernst & Young, her dream summer internship. She starts in May.

From stitch to seam: The Closet’s story

The Freeman Professional Closet is an essential resource for students in the Nistler College of Business & Public Administration. Pancratz Career Development Center Director Kathy Lund, ’15, came up with the closet idea in 2016. “We’d get students prepared for interviews and career fairs, but sometimes they were still hesitant if they didn’t have clothing they felt confident wearing when meeting with employers.”

Lund set out to remove that barrier.

“I’m very much into best practices,” she said. “I called a lot of schools with professional closets and did quite a bit of legwork to find out what worked. I was very intentional about where we were going.”

With a $5,000 grant, Lund launched the first version of the professional closet in Gamble Hall. “We converted an old sink area into a closet. We got a clothing rack and some professional clothing items and started to get the word out,” Lund said.

Threading a (Closet) transformation

Before the Nistler College opened in 2022, the Closet had become a key resource for students. Lund wanted to expand when she met Angie (Hovland), ’91, and Russ Freeman, ’89.

“When Kathy told us about the Closet, it felt like an innovative, creative way to make a direct impact,” Angie Freeman said.

Russ Freeman agreed. “The clothing closet was an opportunity to offer students practical help finding a job.”

While Angie Freeman emphasizes that “it’s what’s inside students that matters,” she and Russ Freeman were eager to help. “Having the right clothes helps students feel more confident and comfortable going into an interview,” Angie Freeman said. “That confidence leads them to land a job, which kick-starts their career and puts them in a position to succeed.”

Confidence: The ultimate accessory

UND junior Jaryn Sundby, a Business Management and Sports major, regularly turns to the Closet for suit jackets and ties. “It’s a huge advantage. Instead of worrying about spending hundreds of dollars shopping, I can focus on the interview itself.”

Sundby interned last summer with the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks, a minor league baseball team, and is seeking work with another professional sports organization. “Every professional event I go to or any interview, I wear the clothes from the Closet,” he said. “When I dress up, I just feel a lot better. It definitely builds confidence in interviews.”

Nistler College students can make an appointment to shop and can pick out two items and an accessory per semester. The clothing — which includes suits, dress shirts, slacks, blouses, skirts, pants, bags, shoes, ties and more — is theirs to keep.

Students can pick up three additional items at blowout events, held once a semester. “In November, we had our biggest event yet — 240 students attended,” Lund said.

Tailoring success: The Pancratz difference

The Freeman Professional Closet is one of many resources the Pancratz Career Development Center offers. “We are relationship-based,” Lund said, explaining that the staff works closely with students to identify their needs and provide individualized support.

Younce and Sundby credit the Pancratz Center for helping them throughout college. Both have benefited from services such as resume writing, networking and interviewing. “I call Kathy my school mom,” Younce said.

Suiting up for success

For Lund, the generosity of people like the Freemans have made the Closet possible. “We came from the area with a sink to this beautiful space,” she said. “I still sometimes get tears in my eyes. People are excited about it, and it’s become a foundational piece of what we do.”

The Freemans see their contributions as part of a broader impact. “Giving to the University impacts the community, the families of students, and the children who come after them,” Angie Freeman said. “The impact that UND has on North Dakota, the country and the world is enormous.”

Lund shared a favorite Closet story. “Before a career fair, a student was looking at himself in the mirror and said, ‘I just don’t feel quite ready.’ We put a suit jacket on him, and his whole posture changed. And I thought, ‘Oh, magic. Now you feel prepared inside and out.’ That confidence is going to come across when he goes into the career fair.”

Thanks to the Freemans and the Pancratz team, students such as Younce and Sundby are dressing for success — and feeling it, too.

About the author:

Stephanie Schultz, ’91, is a writer and editor for the UND Alumni Association & Foundation.