Students Dress for Success

Story by Heidi Wetmore

Spencerville Adventist Academy (SAA) high school students recently participated in the first of this year’s four Dress for Success days. Ellenor Paul-O’Neil, high school vice principal, explains, “Dress for Success Day is intended to teach students how to dress for a professional, business environment. Employers have indicated that many applicants for jobs do not understand how to dress for professional business events such as a job interview or other professional activities. Additionally, it is critical that youth know how to effectively represent themselves in a professional manner.”

These special days are not only about dressing up nicely or giving students a break from their uniforms. Rather, they are days that emphasize success in college and career readiness. During the first Dress for Success Day, students learned about balancing success as Christians and gained helpful tips to personally implement.

Attorney Glenn Bergmann of Bergmann & Moore, a Bethesda, Md., law firm that specializes in veterans’ benefits, spoke at a special chapel. He shared his personal journey of balancing career, faith and resources, and urged the students to stay grounded in their faith so they would not be unduly influenced by money and recognition.

“Overall, we want to foster a culture of professionalism at SAA and afford scholars an opportunity to prepare for the real world and find their voice while doing so,” says O’Neil.