Jonesboro, AR — (JonesboroRightNow.com) — May 14, 2025 — Jonesboro students got to learn how to dress for success Wednesday afternoon, giving them the skills they need to make an impression.
Members of the Nu Tau Sigma chapter of Phi Beta Sigma presented ties to several male students at Douglas MacArthur Junior High School received through the fraternity’s third annual necktie drive.
Members were there to not only teach the students how to tie a necktie but also guide them through any difficulties they may have had, all while enjoying a free lunch with pizza and drinks.
Fraternity member L.C. Kennedy said the event is a way to reinforce to students that the fraternity members care about the students’ futures.
“We want all young men that we encounter to have access to ties and to the opportunities that it represents. We strive to serve our community and to be advocates for our younger generation,” Kennedy said.
The ties were collected through a drive earlier in the month, where community members and companies like JCPenney and Dillard’s pitched in to help.
Assistant principal Franklin Teague said between the two events, over 500 ties have been collected, with about 200 being collected this year.
The goal of the event was to emphasize the importance of dressing for success, because as Teague put it, “you never know who is watching” when you’re in front of others.
“Tying a tie is an essential skill for an interview, for a career. It can be a tedious and difficult thing, so it takes practice to even learn to do it,” Teague said. “In the words of Deion Sanders, ‘If you look good, you feel good, you do good.’”
In addition to learning how to tie a necktie, select students got to participate in a contest in which they raced to see who could tie their ties the fastest. It was something the students said was their favorite part of the event.
“It taught me how to tie a tie faster and be more efficient,” said ninth grader Kaileb.
With this event, Teague said he wants to ensure the students can learn a skill they can pass down.
“We want to make sure we pour into our students to where they don’t keep the fruits for themselves. They are the tree, the fruit isn’t for them. The fruit is to leave a legacy for somebody else behind,” Teague said.
The students agreed, saying these skills will be useful when trying to make it in the real world.
“You never know what type of occasion you might be in, so it would be important to dress professionally,” said ninth grader C.J.
Teague said he hopes events like these serve as a model on how to dress for success.
“I just want them to see that learning this essential skill is a valuable one and also seeing men that look like them honestly teaching them this skill. By us doing this service for our kids, they can find it easy to gravitate to them and be more receptive,” Teague said.
For next year, Teague said they hope to go bigger and teach these skills to more students. He hopes other schools will support these types of initiatives in the future.
“You say ‘It takes a village,’ then come join us, be part of our village,” he said. “Our babies need us, so be that village that you talk about. Don’t talk about it, be about it.”