Dressing for Success: Inside Osbourn Park High School’s Business Borrowing Closet

For students, how they present themselves can shape how they feel and how confident they are. As students reach the high school level, they are often expected to dress professionally for competitions, presentations, interviews, and performances, but access to professional attire is not always guaranteed.

That challenge became clear for Osbourn Park High School students and staff from the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) club.

“Last year was our first year attending regional competition post-Covid, and we noticed that all the competitors from the other schools were more professionally dressed than we were,” said Melanie Ali, business education teacher and FBLA advisor. “The students who were there to compete felt a little less prepared as a result.”

After the competition, Ali and her FBLA students began asking for donations of gently used professional attire to use for future competitions. The goal was to help students feel confident representing themselves and their school while reducing the stigma around professional clothing needs.

The response was immediate and overwhelming. Donations poured in from Osbourn Park High students, families, staff, and members of the external community, including significant contributions from the legal offices.

Thanks to the volume of donations, Ali and the Osbourn Park FBLA were able to launch a soft opening of a business borrowing closet this school year.

The closet removes barriers tied to professional attire and helps students participate in competitions and other events with poise. Although the initiative began with FBLA, the closet is open to all Osbourn Park students and supports a wide range of needs, including concerts, recitals, presentations, rehearsals, interviews, and more.

Several students have already borrowed from the closet and say that it has made a noticeable difference.

“Wearing the suit I borrowed gave me confidence and made me feel more prepared for my regional competition performance” said Jabez Taye, a sophomore. “Preparing for a competition is already hard, and worrying about professional clothes can make it harder. Having access to the closet made a big difference.”

That sense of relief is shared by other students just beginning to take part in competitions or other formal events.

“This closet takes away a lot of stress that students can face when it comes to preparing for certain events,” said Sambridha Ghimire, a freshman. “Professional clothing can be expensive, and an event does not always give you much time to prepare. It makes me feel special to be part of a school that offers this.”

For older students in the FBLA club, the closet also represents a legacy.

“I hope this closet helps future students access opportunities they may not have considered before,” shared senior Melat Wolde. “I am proud to be part of something that will continue to help students like me.”

The Osbourn Park business borrowing closet is the result of collaboration across multiple areas of the school. A building trades class helped set up the closet and construct shelving and clothing racks. Moving forward, the FBLA club envisions that students in multimedia and advanced design courses could support the closet by creating branding and marketing materials. Business management and entrepreneurship students could assist with inventory, organization, and community outreach. The long-term goal is to grow the closet into a career readiness hub supported by students across the school.

“The business borrowing closet shows what Osbourn Park is all about,” said Kwame Aboraah, a senior and FBLA president. “It reflects our school’s values and that our community works together to support our students.”