EngenuitySC & Lower Richland High School STEAM committee to host fourth annual “Dress for Success” business etiquette showcase April 25
April 19, 2017
EngenuitySC has partnered with the Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM) committee at Lower Richland High School (LRHS) to present the fourth annual “Dress for Success” business etiquette showcase on Tuesday, April 25, 2017, from 2 p.m. until 3:15 p.m. Each year, the school auditorium is packed with a high-energy crowd of students cheering for their peers.
A group of 13 hand-picked students participate in Lower Richland’s Dress for Success program, during which they receive “soft skills” training and receive new business outfits, culminating in a fun, peer-to-peer showcase where students take the stage to strut their business attire and recap everything that they have learned throughout the program. During the free showcase, emcee Alicia Barnes of ABC Columbia will discuss proper business etiquette while leading the audience through each student’s transformation. DJ Prince Ice from The Big DM will be live on stage to provide the event’s soundtrack.
Grooming a Talented Workforce for STEAM Careers
The Dress for Success Showcase is an opportunity for young students to learn how to dress and act in a professional manner as they prepare to enter college and, eventually, South Carolina’s highly skilled workforce. Many of the Lower Richland High School students are learning civil engineering and digital design, but also need to learn how to properly navigate the business world. This event demonstrates the successful results of the innovative STEAM education program, where LRHS is preparing South Carolina’s young people for success in high-paying, skilled careers.
The STEAM (previously STEM) program was implemented at Lower Richland High School in June of 2013 and has been devoted to creating innovative activities to engage and expose students to the importance of a strong core curriculum. STEAM and EngenuitySC’s Dress for Success event is acknowledged for its investment in education for the future and beneficial impact in the Midlands community.
New Business Attire, Dining Etiquette Training and More
Teachers at LRHS selected 13 junior and senior students to split into three groups – casual, business casual and traditional business – each paired with a mentor. The mentors, committed to teaching the students about professionalism, are community volunteers from various organizations – including Megan Pinckney, travel writer, lifestyle blogger and former Miss South Carolina USA.
On April 18, one week before the big showcase, students and mentors met at JCPenney to learn about business-appropriate attire and pick out their outfits and accessories for the showcase event. Molina Healthcare, the official Dress for Success wardrobe sponsor, allotted each student $150 to spend on their wardrobe for the fashion show.
Later that night, Dress for Success students will enjoy a complimentary dinner with their mentors at Solstice Kitchen led by Georgia Doran, Director of Office of Career Management at the University of South Carolina’s Moore School of Business, in which they will discuss etiquette and soft skills such as communication and language; personal habits; leadership; and other interpersonal skills.
The Dress for Success student showcase – April 25, 2-3:15 p.m. at the LRHS auditorium – provides the selected students a chance to share what they learned from the initiative with their classmates.
EngenuitySC’s Partnership with STEAM Schools in RCSD1
EngenuitySC is proud to partner with three schools in Richland County School District One, including Lower Richland High, Hopkins Middle and Southeast Middle Schools. Since the partnership commenced in June 2013, EngenuitySC has focused on exposing students, teachers and parents to the opportunities associated with STEAM careers. Thanks to collaboration with industry, higher education and community partners, EngenuitySC has helped bring hands-on STEAM experiences, soft skills development and entrepreneurial activities into the halls of all three schools.
Project Partners:
• EngenuitySC
• Richland County School District One
• Richland County
• Molina Healthcare
• University of South Carolina Moore School of Business
• Solstice Kitchen
• JCPenney
• Paul Mitchell The School Columbia
About Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math (STEAM) Education
The goal of STEAM-related professional learning is to support teachers with pedagogical-content knowledge that translates into effective classroom practices which integrates the five domains of science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics. As a result, students in effective STEAM classrooms learn how to identify, apply and integrate concepts from those five domains in order to understand complex problems and to solve problems using innovative approaches.
About EngenuitySC
Headquartered in Columbia, S.C., EngenuitySC is an economic development nonprofit focused on enhancing our region’s competitiveness and prosperity. In partnership with business, government, education and community leaders, EngenuitySC specializes in regional collaboration and project management, the activation of local industry clusters and regional research, analysis and marketing. For more information, visit http://www.engenuitysc.com.
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