In honor of Becky Heilaman and the Oklahoma Christian Women’s Association, the Professional Clothing Closet is being rededicated on April 14, 2026 in the Career Services Office. Charlotte Hamil, the director of career services, spoke with The Talon about the closet and its origin as well as her personal connection to its founding.
The closet started out as an idea when Hamil’s son needed a suit at the last minute for a class presentation, but the clothing lay at home a couple hours away. The incident sparked an idea to help other students with similar problems: a professional clothing closet. After being hired at Oklahoma Christian University, Hamil had lunch with Becky Heilaman, a friend who worked with HR at CEC (Civil & Environment Consultants), and started chatting about the idea. Heilaman fell in love with the concept and immediately began to work with Hamil with the support of CEC and OCWA.
“Professional clothing is really expensive, and sometimes students don’t always have time to try and go find professional clothing on a whim, or they may not have a car or those types of things to be able to go get that. So I really saw a need to be able to provide something where students can come get those things and it also be free. One of the reasons I feel like it’s so important is when you’re going to an interview, when you’re attending a career fair, or even certain classroom presentations, you need to put your best foot forward. And, you know, having on that nice suit and tie or, for ladies, a professional blazer with slacks, it’s so important to make sure that you’re representing yourself well and you feel confident in what you have on too,” Hamil said.
Beyond helping students in need, the driving force behind the closet is the memory of Heilaman, who passed away in September, 2025. Her efforts as well as the efforts of OCWA and CEC made an impact in the reality of creating a professional closet for students.
“We lost Becky to cancer in September. I want her legacy to live on. I am also so grateful to OCWA and all that they do for our campus, and I felt it was really important to recognize not only Becky and CEC, but also OCWA… It’s been so impactful and so important for what we’re trying to accomplish and just one way that we can support our students,” Hamil said.
Activity for the closet is relatively seasonal, coinciding with business boot camps and career fairs. Students may drop by or make an appointment through Handshake.
“At the beginning of school, especially during business boot camp, we have quite a few come through because they need a blazer or they need a tie. I would say in a certain season, career fair season and presentation season, we probably have 10 to 15 students just kind of drop by… and if we’re able to drop in, we also like to offer help in ‘Does this look good? Does this fit well?’ If they have an idea of what they’re looking for, because we’re in there so often, we can kind of quickly pull some things for them to try on. We really like to be as interactive as possible and help just kind of make that not so stressful,” Hamil said.
Students receive their first outfit at no cost, then, with Eagle Flight Plan, Oklahoma Christian’s unique professional development software, they may redeem points and claim items as rewards. Shopping trips are unlimited and students may “buy” clothing with points whenever they wish during business hours.
“We’re talking if you find shoes, belt, suit, tie, shirt, skirt, dress, whatever that looks like… and I’ve had quite a few students come back. I mean, they come in and they want to get a Keurig or like a wireless speaker, but then they also grab a shirt or a skirt, you know? So that’s why we tried to make the rewards program for the Eagle Flight Plan kind of vast. We’ve got some really fun things, but then we have things that you might really, really need,” Hamil said.
The dedication will be attended by Heilaman’s family, members from CEC, and OCWA and will also feature a plaque to be placed outside the closet. The plaque will have both of the photos featured below as well as some of the history behind the clothing closet, honoring those who helped make it a reality.
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