Real-world experience: Gator Style Studio offers students many lessons

Students in the center’s cosmetology department are excited about the opening of the Gator Style Studio because it will give them real-world experiences as they prepare for their futures.

“In this class, you can’t look for a lot of handouts. You’ve got to do it on your own. You’ve got to learn on your own, and I feel like that’ll help a lot in the future because you won’t always be looking for a lot of handouts,” 16-year-old McKenzie Fogle said.

The salon, which is managed and operated by students, officially opened last month. Students will offer a wide range of services, including working with nails, facials, makeup and hair care, including styling and coloring.

Shakhyrah Baker, 16, said, “You’re working with a lot of different people in here. In the real world, you’re going to work with different people.”

Le’amontae Davis, who is also 16, said, “The character is important because you won’t get as much clients. You have to be professional with them. So in our studio, we try to be very professional. That’s what builds our character.”

Vondella Smith-Richardson, the center’s cosmetology instructor, is proud of all of her students. They are divided into a junior group and a senior group.

“With the junior group, this is their first semester in cosmetology. They’ve only had about six weeks in this class. They have been basically learning about sanitation, disinfection and things like that, learning how to keep things clean,” she said.

She continued, “We will only be offering eyebrow waxing, manicures, hand massages on Wednesday, but we will have a full open-service salon starting Thursday. We already have a few appointments available and booked with my senior group.

“They have a little more experience with doing color and locks and blow dries and blowouts. So they’ll be able to do some of those things on Thursday and Friday because we have open lab on Thursday and Friday for the senior groups.”

“They take appointments. We have an online booking appointment system, as well. We’re open during the day all day on Thursday and Friday from 10:30 until the last person who my senior group can take at 2:15 p.m.,” Smith-Richardson said.

The full-service salon is equipped with several amenities students can use, including a full dispensary, three shampoo bowls, six stylist stations, two makeup stations and two facial bars.

“Our senior group really enjoys doing facials. We have a spa facial and a basic facial. We do manicures, pedicures and hand massages. We also do steam treatments. We have six dryers,” Smith-Richardson said.

She said the hands-on experience the students get on their way to obtaining a cosmetology license is critical.

“You definitely need hands-on experience. Anytime you’re at a game, you get better in the game. You don’t get better on the bench, and the way they get better is they’ve got to be able to work on patrons. All the services provided here are for the community and for other students here. The staff can also come over here and get some services, as well,” Smith-Richardson said.

She continued, “The students have been wanting to get their hands in and start some services, and now they’re starting to get a little more comfortable with doing things. Some of them are shy, and some of them don’t really step out … but you have to. Everybody’s going to have to work in every single capacity.

“When they leave me, they’re going to be able to do some work. I get the best up out of them whether they like it or not. They don’t have to like what I do. I’m not mean, but I mean what I say. I’ve been in this industry for 26 years, and I have been blessed in this industry … and I want them to be able to have some of the experiences and the joy that I have had in it.”

Nyhana Bookhart, 16, said, “We are very excited. We just want to show people what we can do and what we learned in six weeks.”

Zy’Kariya Dennis, 16, said, “You get a sense of responsibility from it because Ms. V is the type of teacher who’ll show you one time how to do something, and once she understands that you understand it, she’s not going to give you any more help on how to do it, or she’s not going to do the work for you.”

Smith-Richardson said, “It’s not just about styling hair and doing makeup, facials and nails. It’s about character. So I’m teaching them about character, and we’re building character.”

Jay’ona Clark, 17, said, “I’ll say it doesn’t just help you learn how to do hair and stuff, it helps you out in the real world, too. Business, communication skills, everything.”

Angel Washington, 17, said, “It teaches everything: nails, hair, different hairstyles, facials, manicures and pedicures. We’ve got all of that stuff. So it gives you options. You can pick what you want to do. You don’t have to do one thing. I like doing hair, and I like waxing.”

Kaylen Williams, 17, said, “We learn new stuff. We develop new skills. We do a bit of everything. We learn about anatomy, physiology, mostly science and math, social studies, everything put together. Then we start doing hands-on stuff like hair and nails, waxing, facials.”

Smith-Richardson said, “We can probably have some licensed cosmetologists leaving up out of here. That is the goal.”