Smith Launches Career Boutique and Wellness Room to Empower Student Success

The Robert H. Smith School of Business, in partnership with Enterprise Mobility Foundation, has launched a new co-curricular initiative aimed at helping students dress for success—literally. The Enterprise Mobility Foundation Career Boutique and Wellness Room, located in Van Munching Hall, is a donation-based resource that provides free professional attire to Smith School and BSE (Business, Society and Entrepreneurship) Scholars preparing for interviews, job fairs, and new career opportunities.

A collaborative effort between Smith’s Office of Career Services (OCS) and the BSE Scholars Program, the boutique offers access to suits, blouses, ties, shoes, accessories, and even styling consultations. Workshops such as “How to Dress for an Interview” and a future personal shopper component make the space a full-service professional preparation center.

"This initiative is about more than clothing; it’s about confidence and career readiness," said Dr. Oliver Schlake, Director of the BSE Scholars Program. Assistant Director Dr. Obioma Akaigwe emphasized the boutique’s sustainability model, noting that donations from alumni, local businesses and community members fuel its operations. "We want every student to walk into an interview feeling confident, no matter their financial situation."

Join us for the grand opening of the boutique, along with the newly created wellness room, sponsored by the Enterprise Mobility Foundation, on Sept. 9 at 11:00 a.m. in Van Munching Hall, Room 2530.

The Career Boutique will have specific hours and will be run by trained student staff from the BSE program, who continuously develop plans for growth and work directly with job seekers to understand upcoming trends and needs. Anyone wishing to donate or learn more can visit smithocs-ae@umd.edu.

“In addition to providing a vital resource for our students, we see the boutique as a great live-learning tool that allows students to test new ideas in a start-up environment,” says Schlake. “Initially, the boutique is funded by grants, but they will not last forever, and students will be tasked to reimagine new business models to make the boutique a sustainable fixture at Smith. Every spring, BSE students will spend time during the capstone project to upgrade and improve the boutique. Two previous rounds of capstone have moved the project from idea to reality, and we intend to continue with that path.”

Akaigwe emphasizes that, “Once established, we offer the boutique as a platform to other programs and classes as a co-curricular learning experience to teach essential skills in a real-life environment. We also want to partner with Smith and UMD entrepreneurs whose businesses are touching career readiness for exposure and commissions to sustain operations.”

In the fall, the first student rentals will take place, and faculty, staff and alumni will see many requests for in-kind donations of interview clothing and, of course, the occasional ask for a $20 bill left in the suit pocket to support the project. 

OCS Head, Kimberly Rice DeGross, Esq., brought the career boutique to life by securing support from industry partners like the Enterprise Mobility Foundation, which financed the initial start-up cost. DeGross points out that “it is a vital service to our students in a difficult market, but more than this, it is a great co-curricular learning experience to prepare students for the next phase of their careers.”

The wellness room will be a place for students to collect their thoughts prior to an interview, or decompress after an interview, and for all faculty, staff, and students of the Smith Business School to get re-centered as needed throughout the school year.