Suited for a Cause
Presented by Moments Media, TA98’s Digital Storytelling Division
By Araceli Ramirez
Yahaira Luna Carrillo | UIC | Major: Accounting
Inside La Villita Cleaners, Yahaira Luna Carrillo tugged at her blazer cuffs, unsure if the suit fit who she was or who she was becoming. Then she caught her reflection: shoulders relaxed, standing a little taller.
Suited for a Cause (S4AC), a yearlong initiative by The Alliance 98, mentors youth ages 16 to 24 through monthly workshops and employer connections. Since 2018, it has grown from providing 70 suits to Little Village High School students to reaching young professionals across Chicago, helping them build confidence and a sense of belonging in professional spaces.
Each tailored suit marks growth beyond the fitting room, reflected in Carrillo’s journey from participant to mentor.
“I feel like, as first-generation students, even if we have barriers, we should still chase after our dreams,” Carrillo said. “We still deserve to have the same opportunities that other privileged people have.”
Cristian Lopez | UIC | Major: Accounting
A HOPE Scholarship recipient and accounting major at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Carrillo co-leads S4AC with other The Alliance 98 (TA98) members. She organizes citywide site visits, connecting Little Village youth with professionals from New Life Church, United Way, and the Maywood Courthouse. The role also led Carrillo to TA98’s finance team, where she learned to manage budgets and accounting platforms.
“It’s meaningful to help foster a space where companies can connect with young people one-on-one,” Carrillo said. After each visit, she gathers student feedback and shares it with employers to build stronger partnerships. This year, the program has nearly 50 participants, most of them from Little Village.
The suit fittings themselves become part of the lesson. SuitShop, a partner company, donates professional suits and helps students find the right fit. Each 20-minute session feels more like a conversation, as stylists talk with students about their personal style and goals.
“For many young people, buying or wearing a suit for the first time might be for something important like an interview, a graduation, or a special event,” said Julie Paris, SuitShop’s Director of Fulfillment.
For 19-year-old Cristian Lopez, that moment came at TA98’s Grounded Studio, where rows of suits lined the walls.
“I knew for my accounting career I’d need to look the part,” he said.
A first-generation student from Little Village, Lopez graduated from Little Village Lawndale High School with an associate degree and joined S4AC, unsure of his next step. Through mock interviews, he learned how to approach professionals and listen more attentively.
Leonel Arcos | UIUC | Major: Finance
“I didn’t even know what a mock interview was,” he said. “But that practice helped me get the internship I have now.”
Lopez is a current intern with Deloitte, one of the nation’s largest accounting and professional services firms. “When I put on my suit, I felt like a new person,” he said. “It made me proud to represent the small percentage of Hispanics in accounting.”
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 11.8 percent of workers in management, business, and financial operations occupations identified as Hispanic or Latino in 2024 — a gap that programs like S4AC hope to close.
“This feels like a second home in Little Village,” Leonel Arcos, a 20-year-old finance major who joined the 2023 S4AC cohort just before graduating high school, said.
Arcos learned how to craft an elevator pitch and present himself comfortably in professional settings, lessons that continue to guide him at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Beyond the workshops, he valued the relationships that strengthened his Spanish and kept him connected to Little Village while studying two hours away.
Like many participants, Arcos viewed S4AC as something larger than professional growth.