A snippet into one of SRTC’s most popular programs
By Laci willette, staff writer
Calm and faint music is playing in the room. The entryway is lined with many mannequin heads with different hairstyles on each one, most are vibrant colors, others are subtle colors. The fragrance of acrylic nail powder floods the room as well as faint chatter and laughter amongst students.
There were also mirrors with inspiring words on them, such as, “You are loved”, “You’re so pretty” and “Keep moving” among many more.
In the afternoon session, when students in their second year of the program attend, were busily working in the room. Some worked on acrylic nails while others worked on nail art.
Brittany Eaton, the cosmetology teacher, shares how she has been in the cosmetic industry for under 20 years now and has been teaching for 15 to 16 years.
She graduated from high school a year early and went straight to beauty school.
“I knew from a very young age I wanted to either be a dance teacher, an art teacher or a cosmetology teacher,” said Eaton.
Eaton faced many challenges when moving to this new school. In the old school, her program was in an old history class, but here, she originally had worked in a garage with no supplies, due to the construction still happening in the new building and waiting for furniture and supplies to arrive.
The program started in 2018, and it has taken up until 2021 to finally become the classroom she envisioned it to be.
Eaton shares that she became a teacher to give students a better understanding as to what cosmetology is and rather what people believe it is.
She hopes to show the students fun things, different things and expose them to more beauty schools.
According to Taylor Whitten, a senior, they learn everything from hair care, such as shampoo, conditioning, washing, haircutting, styling, chemical treatments, coloring and highlighting, to nail care like acrylics and nail art.
When asked what her advice would be to students who’d like to join the program, she said, “[The program] does get tough at times…But I would say my best advice is to continue with it because you’ll find something you love. There’s so many opportunities in this one little field that people have no idea about.”
After seeing what they do and what they learn, I can safely say that there is much more to cosmetology than many people know.
Cosmetology is a two-year program; the morning session is for first-year students and the afternoon session for second-years. According to SRTC’s website, the program “allows students interested in the field of Cosmetology to begin their training by earning approximately 600 hours of the 1500 hours required for a Maine or New Hampshire Cosmetology license over the two years,” which transfer to post-secondary Cosmetology schools in the area and enable students to begin their studies with a portion of the program hours completed.
Any students interested in applying should speak with their school counselor on the enrollment process or visit SRTC’s website or watch the video below.
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