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Kayti Ducheine, a sophomore, also opts to "dress to impress" and succeed.

At least once a semester, the students of Lambert will don starched blazers and slacks, and switch out of rugged tennis shoes. This year, on Valentine’s day, even some of the biggest wearers of sweatpants could be seen dressed in a blouse and heels. Most likely, this was sparked by many teachers telling their students, “You must dress for success, or write an essay on why you chose not to,” and naturally, most students decided to dress professionally instead. However, there is more to dressing for success than students risking their grade averages.

Most of the kids participating in Dress for Success were a part of a career pathway, including Healthcare, Business, and Culinary. Mrs. Emily Lewandowski, oversaw “Dressing for Success,” as the department chair for Career Tech pathways at Lambert. Mrs. Lewandowski explained the purpose as, “To prepare students for success in the career world. It is a state standard in all of our CTAE courses. The CTAE coordinator at the county office asked all the CTAE department chairs and assistant principals to implement it for all CTAE 3rd year classes. An understanding of professional dress in detail and how important it is to make a positive first impression. We believe that when you dress for success you are more successful. The way people respond to you is also interesting to watch…people treat you with more respect. We also hoped it raised awareness of our programs to all students at Lambert.”

But what did students think about this? Noora Chandasir, who is currently a junior, is very active in the healthcare pathway offered at Lambert. “It prepares us for professionalism in the future and exposing us to different things like how to write cover letters and approach interviews…not only do we dress up, we also get mentally prepared to face opportunities in the future,” she explained. Like many other students in the healthcare pathway, she usually wears scrubs on Tuesdays, and in the past it has gotten by as “dressing for success.” But this time around, the healthcare teachers instructed their students to dress as though the student is attending a job interview.

“Dress for success is a day when you can just dress professionally, and be the best person you can possibly be,” said Abhideep Buddha, a sophomore. Many students can agree with the idea of dressing for success being more than just a requirement, as putting in effort and dressing formally can help alleviate a lack of self-confidence. “I didn’t only participate in dress for success, I also dressed up to audition for Grease, kind of to dress to impress as well as getting more into role of the character,” said Kayti Ducheine, another student involved in pathways at Lambert.

This has been one of the most successful days for students to dress for success. Each day is a step closer into the real world, a world which Lambert has prepared its students for. Dressing for success has triumphed in helping students anticipate its importance as they step into ground breaking careers of the future.