Suit up: How First Star and Dress for Success Phoenix team up to prepare students for future careers

October 7, 2025

2 minutes

Suit up: How First Star and Dress for Success

Hangers flew as students in the First Star program filed through racks of professional attire. In partnership with Dress For Success, faculty sorted through piles of ties and boxes of accessories to find the best accents for each student co-ord in a wonderful day that bridged the importance of fashion and career guidance at ASU.

First Star is a four-year college program that provides foster youth with academic engagement and resources to help them excel in college. It is a free program and offers opportunities to earn college credit and partake in a two-week summer experience.

Although Dress for Success was originally established as a program to help support and equip women for the workforce, the Phoenix chapter collaborated with First Star to provide their students with outfits and apparel best suited for interview scenarios and workplace environments.

It was a one-two punch approach, where students were given advice on the written process and formalities of job applications, followed by a lesson highlighting the importance of looking the part for an interview or work day.

Lily McUne, a first year student studying biological sciences at South Mountain Community College, is involved in the First Star program.

“They had Dress for Success, interview prep and resume review sessions that would help you get the job to get past that first screening process,” McUne said. “As someone who didn't have any support and was all on my own, First Star helps me get the things that I need to be successful in my life.”

First Star’s aforementioned support also manifests itself in more than just pre-professional preparation. Nora Davis, a sophomore at ASU studying business law, who has been a part of First Star for roughly six months, hallmarked the community and sense of belonging ushered by the program.

“When we went to “How to Train Your Dragon” the live action movie last week, it was such a good bonding experience. We rented out the whole theater; we really got to be kids and let loose like I've never seen before,” Davis recalled.

Davis tried on an ensemble of bootcut pink dress pants with a black, short sleeved chiffon blouse adorned with pink accents. She added a blazer on top to tie it together. Her eyes lit up as she saw herself in the outfit of her dreams.

She radiated an Elle Woods level of confidence.

“When I show up to court with these hot pink pants, no one's ever going to question me,” Davis added.

Beyond community, confidence and job preparation, First Star serves as a foundation for people who have been in the foster care system to provide them with various resources that they may not otherwise have.

One student, Lillian Montemorra, highlighted the leg of support First Star has given her.

“A lot of kids who were in the foster care system are in need of programs like these to get a head start in college, to help with housing, to help with finances and food,” Montemorra said. “First Star just provides resources to help with all of that for [foster kids] and those who are aging out of foster care.”

Ultimately, First Star works hard to lead youth and provide access to higher education, regardless of where one lives or goes to school.

“They've given us a lot of resources for college. Whether it’s for out-of-state colleges, international or community college — you don't have to be going to ASU to be a part of First Star,” Montemorra said. She’s currently attending Mesa Community College, hoping to study social work and working within the juvenile system.

Through the provision of resources and pre-professional assistance —- at its core, programs like First Star and Dress for Success exist to help instill a crucial value to its students: confidence.

Elizabeth Pulido, a prior member in the program, works at Dress for Success to serve Maricopa County via her mobile career center. Through her work, she has connected with students to set up their confidence and establish high self-esteem.

“It's not just the suit that brings out the encouragement of a person: it’s their self-esteem. It reinforces that they do look good, that they are somebody, that they're going to look good for that interview and that they're going to land the job,” Pulido said.

Photography by: Jr De Chavez and Brielle Cohen

Brielle Cohen

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