Dawson County news. (Dawsonville, Georgia) 2015-current, January 15, 2020, Image 3
Wednesday, January 15,2020 dawsonnews.com I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I 3A Brenau helps students with confidence — and a suit Scott Rogers Dawson County News Brenau University's Lila Westmoreland visits Tiger Threads Thursday, Jan. 9, inside the university's Jacobs Building. By Kelsey Podo DCN Regional Staff For many students, putting on a tailored suit is like donning a cloak of confidence. This extra dose of profession alism can make all the differ ence when interviewing for an internship or job, and Brenau University recognizes that. To help students along their career paths, Brenau started a clothing closet called Tiger Threads. Since November, students have been able to visit the clos et, located on the lower level of the John W. Jacobs Jr. Building, and pick out professional cloth ing for free. Lila Westmoreland, director of operation and executive pro grams at Brenau’s College of Business and Communication, said she got the idea to start the shop when visiting Georgia Southern University’s Armstrong campus. She tested the waters for a couple of years at Brenau, offering a pop-up professional clothing store at intern fairs. Most of the clothing dona tions were gathered through a partnership with The Rotary Club of Gainesville, and the clothing racks were provided by Brenau’s theater department. As the students perused the clothing at the intern fairs, Westmoreland asked them to take a survey. “It was very informative,” Westmoreland said. “The sur vey resulted in students saying they don’t have anything to wear during interviews and that makes them feel insecure.” Once the Jacobs building fin ished renovations this past sum mer, Westmoreland decided to give the professional clothing closet a year-round space. Brenau’s fashion design department students and faculty helped paint the clothing clos et’s walls and shelves. They also provided photographs from a recent fashion show, which now adorn a section of the room. “It has come a long way, but we still have a long way to go,” Westmoreland said. “We really want to make it pretty and inviting.” She plans to finish restocking and decorating the space in the spring and celebrate the accom plishment with a grand opening. As Westmoreland equips stu dents with the skills to nab an interview, she never fails to stress the importance of look ing the part. Through Tiger Threads, students have one less hurdle for landing their next internship or job. “I tell them that this is your one time to convince somebody why you’re perfect for this position,” Westmoreland said. “You want it to be more about what you’re saying and not dis tracting in any way.” Looking toward the future of Tiger Threads, Westmoreland hopes to gain a couple of com munity partners, including large retail companies like Brooks Brothers, JCPenney or Belk. For now, the biggest needs are shoes, accessories and a broader range of men’s and women’s suit sizes. People can make donations, and students can schedule a time to pick out clothing by emailing Westmoreland at lwestmoreland@brenau.edu. Mobile career coach visits Dawson County By Joshua Demarest jdemarest@dawsonnews.com A mobile career coach from WorkSource Georgia Mountains, a cooperative effort lead by the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) and the Georgia Mountains Regional Commission (GMRC), visited the Dawsonville Goodwill Tuesday, Jan. 14. The event, which was free and open to the public, promised to help job seekers search and apply for jobs online, create and hone their resumes and cover let ters, take career assessments, develop workforce skills and learn about WIOA training opportunities in the area. People who are interested in making use of the services offered by WorkSource Georgia Mountains but couldn’t attend the two-hour coaching session can visit their office in Gainesville. The WorkSource Georgia Mountains mobile career coach sits outside of the Goodwill in Dawsonville Tuesday, Jan. 14. Jessica Taylor Dawson County News Dawson County Schools seeks input to develop Strategic Plan By Jessica Taylor jtaylor@dawsonnews.com The Dawson County School District is asking for community input as it embarks on its strategic planning process. The sys tem is asking for feedback from citizens, school staff, parents, students and civic leaders in order to ensure the resulting strategic plan reflects the wishes of the community. A school district’s strategic plan is a long-range planning document that out lines the district’s mission and vision as well as its goals and objectives needed to achieve its vision. According to a press release from Dawson County Schools, there will be two upcoming opportunities for communi ty members to provide input. On Jan. 21, a select group of community members com posed of citizens, school staff, parents and high school students are invited to partici pate in a small group discussion regarding issues useful in developing the plan. The meeting will be held from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Board of Education in the Professional Development Center. If it isn’t possible to attend the meet ing, community members are encouraged to participate in an online survey to weigh in on the strategic plan which will be posted on www.dawsoncoun- tyschools.org on Jan. 22 after the Jan. 21 meeting. “It is critical to have as many voices at the table as possible so that our strategic plan will truly represent all of our dis trict’s stakeholders,” said Superintendent Damon Gibbs. All of the input will be given to a plan ning team composed of school staff and community members to assist in their deliberations on crafting a vision, mis sion, beliefs and strategic goal areas for the district. Dentistry Your Family Will Love! Cleaning & Exams Tooth Colored Fillings • Same Day Crowns • Root Canal Treatment • Implant Dentistry • Invisalign • Teeth Whitening B. Manzur, D.M.D 754 HWY. 53 WEST, DAWSONVILLE, GA 706-265-2505 Qelwkj. 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