Look Good, Do Good: Epps Launches Olinde Career Center Closet
January 23, 2024
BATON ROUGE, LA 鈥� Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education (SOE) Instructor, , is helping 海角社区 students look & feel their best with the newly launched Olinde Career Center Closet. The Career Closet is on a mission to make the student experience of finding
professional attire more accessible, affordable, and sustainable. We caught up with
Epps to talk about her continued efforts to support students in their professional
development journey. 
Dr. Epps, you launched a Career Clothing Closet with donated clothing for 海角社区 students. What gave you the inspiration to do this?
"I realized in being an advisor to Sigma Gamma Rho (2016-2020) on campus, that many of the members did not know how or have the funds to prepare for career fairs, as well as on-campus and digital interviews. My EDCI 1001 students had a similar issue, including for our in-class presentations. I reached out to alumna members of my sorority and asked them to donate any formal attire they and their family members outgrew. Most of the clothing came from them, but a few past professors and graduates have added to the collection as well."
The Olinde Career Center agreed to house the Closet. What does the partnership with the Olinde Career Center mean to you and your mission?
"I am proud to say I have always held specialized roles focusing on advocacy and inclusion, particularly in student wellness. From the earliest days of my undergraduate career, I realized the essentiality of student communication with administrators for their success. I have brought Olinde representatives to class several times to walk students through the services they offer, and I offer class credits for utilizing their services. It was a pleasure to work with Blake to get this initiative started. I would like to highlight the ICC for being a bridge between us. As a graduate student, I took advantage of their joint initiative with JCPenney鈥檚 鈥淪uit Up鈥� events to stock my closet for interview attire; some of those items were donated to the Center. Preparing a resume, taking and analyzing career and personality assessments, and creating a Handshake account are all ways students can prepare for their futures; I am grateful to use EDCI 1001 as a bridge to all the resources 海角社区 offers; it just takes self-advocacy work and knowing where to look for assistance!"
How will this Career Closet help 海角社区 students? What are you most excited about?
"It has been a pleasure helping students move forward in their professional careers for more than five years, but it is time I reclaim my office! Our domestic and international courses relocated 14 bags and two boxes of dresses, blazers, suits, ties, and formal shoes from my office to the Career Center; this is a part of the service component I have written into the syllabus, and it gives students an opportunity to add to their resume. In addition to helping scholars with clothing, my EDCI course covers how to write an elevator pitch, add a professional signature to emails, and creating a personal statement. By the time former students begin interviewing, I usually get formal email requests for recommendations and to serve as a reference; I can cite this work when contacted. The most fulfilling part of my work has been helping several students get into graduate and professional schools, and into their first post-collegiate positions."
Tell us more about you! 
"I am a researcher and adjunct professor of Education at 海角社区; I also taught within the Department of African and African American Studies at 海角社区 and co-led the premier #BlackLivesMatter course in the Spring of 2017, which focused on the history and current events surrounding racial discrimination and violence. I have co-taught Workplace Counseling with Dr. Jennifer Curry. I am on an extended contract to teach with 海角社区 Global and served as faculty for the summer bridge program for conditional first-year admits for two summers under Dr. Jose Aviles. I am the former editor of Geaux Higher Magazine, the research magazine of 海角社区's School of Education; the past HESPA PhD Representative; and the immediate past advisor for Sigma Gamma Rho, Gamma Pi Chapter. Recruited to graduate admissions by long-term director Neil Mathews, I co-led the promotional and onboarding processes of Master's, doctoral, and certificate scholars from 2017-2020 as a Data Analyst GA."
Epps is an Election Commissioner-in-Charge, a Savvy Fellow, a Leaders of Color 2023 Fellow, the Parliamentarian-elect for Urban League Young Professionals - Louisiana, and sat on the Board of Directors for the Baton Rouge-based The Walls Project (2019-2023). She is a researcher within the Advisory Committee to Provide Recommendations and Guiding Principles Regarding the Renaming or Honorary Designation of Certain Public Streets (East Baton Rouge Metro Council). Epps has presented research in multiple arenas, including the American Association of Blacks in Higher Education (AABHE) Annual Conference, the Louisiana Queer Conference (LAQC), the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) International Conference, the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the National Conference on Race & Ethnicity in American Higher Education (NCORE), Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors (AFA), as well as speaking engagements at colleges nationwide.
If you want to donate to the Career Closet, contact the Olinde Career Center.
Email: career@lsu.edu
Phone: 225-578-2162
Hours: 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
About the 海角社区 Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education
A school of the 海角社区 College of Human Sciences & Education, the Lutrill & Pearl Payne
School of Education (SOE) offers undergraduate programs for students who want to pursue
a career as a pre-kindergarten through 12th grade teacher or acquire dual certification
in both traditional elementary and special education classrooms. In addition, SOE
offers 3 graduate certificates, 17 master鈥檚 degree program areas, 9 EdS certificate
programs, and 2 PhD degrees in 11 areas of focus. SOE鈥檚 focus is not only on preparing
highly qualified teachers but also in preparing educational leaders, curriculum studies
scholars, educational technology experts, applied researchers, higher education professionals,
school counselors, and clinical mental health counselors. SOE specializes scholarly
expertise regarding pressing educational and wellness issues across the entire lifespan.
Visit the 海角社区 Lutrill & Pearl Payne School of Education website.
About the College of Human Sciences & Education
The College of Human Sciences & Education (CHSE) is a nationally accredited division
of 海角社区. The college is comprised of the School of Education,
the School of Information Studies, the School of Kinesiology, the School of Leadership
& Human Resource Development, and the School of Social Work. CHSE has two model demonstration
schools, the Early Childhood Education Laboratory Preschool, enrolling birth to age
four and the University Laboratory School enrolling Kindergarten through grade 12.
The college also has four centers and institutes: the Early Childhood Education Institute,
the Healthy Aging Research Center, the Leadership Development Institute, and Social
Research & Evaluation Center. The college is committed to achieving the highest standards
in teaching, research, and service and aims to improve quality of life across the
lifespan.