REQUEST

Thu
10

Check out the winning work of our North Campus Student Artists!

TAGS: artistic,competitions,creative,winners,

Mon
23

I’m not sure entirely what made me decide to make such a life changing decision, nearly twelve months ago, when I decided to come here to Gene Juarez Academy. For nine years I have been a stay at home mom. Before that, I was an office manager for a construction company for several years. I really had no experience in the cosmetology industry aside from the occasional hair color I performed on myself and my friends. But when my son went off to school, I did some serious thinking about where I wanted my life to go professionally. Did I want to go back to a dead end job that I really didn’t enjoy? Or did I have the guts to completely change the course of my career, and learn to do something I actually liked?

Well as you can see, I decided to take a chance, and at the age of thirty-seven, I am back in school. Over the past twelve months, I have learned a lot about the cosmetology industry, as well as about myself and my future goals. I have learned I respond well to challenge. In fact, I thrive on it. From Design, to Technical, to CAD and out onto the floor, Gene Juarez Academy has continually challenged me to be the best that I can be. I have the courage and the confidence to try all sorts of new things now. My initial jitters at starting a new career at my age, have all but disappeared. I absolutely love doing hair! I love the feeling I get when someone leaves my chair, feeling like a new person. I am very thankful that I decided to take a “left turn” so to speak, and try something new in my life. It is the best decision I have ever made! I feel more than ready to start the next chapter in my life………I can’t wait to head out into the workforce!

TAGS: beauty school,cosmetology training,Gene Juarez Academy,

Sun
22

It seems, that once in the break room, you have no problem sharing any event of your day. And yet, once out of the break room, you wonder what your day was filled with. I think I had a full foil, and I think I have a haircut up next. Did they call my name? Wait, they did? No, well, I’m not sure, lets go to the front desk anyways. I find it appropriate to call every day an adventure. It truly is. You never know what you’re going to get, who you’re going to see, or even how the day will play out.

I am currently in State Board prep, not only am I excited, I find myself almost in a state of slight shock. All the information that I “thought” I knew needs to be re-processed and executed. Maybe its test anxiety, or maybe its the fact that when state board finals are actually happening in about a month and a half. My school year is in the final stretch. It truly seems that it was just yesterday that everyone was all quiet and starting on our first day of school. It will be exciting how the next few months will play out, I look forward to state boards, and I look forward to graduating!

A thought at the back of my mind…I wonder, why don’t they make reality shows around Beauty Schools?

TAGS: beauty school,gja student,graduation,state board exams,

Sun
22

Last night I went to an amazing runway show that was a part of Bellevue’s Fashion Week. I was so excited to go, because it was my first runway show and I had heard great things about the salon team that was doing the hair. The whole show was beautiful! The models, the music, the clothes and the hair all came together so well and was so much fun to watch. I enjoyed how the new fall trends were inspired by and embracing Pacific Northwest culture and style.

Having done a variety of updos and fashion hair at school, I really enjoyed watching how the models hair moved and changed throughout the show. Many of them walked the runway a few times in different outfits and always with different hair. I was impressed by the elaborate hairpieces, BIG hair and drastic style changes. Watching the show made me wonder about how fast those stylists hands must be moving and how high their creative minds must be flying to create all that amazing hair art. I can’t wait until I’m on the other side of the curtain where the magic happens.

TAGS: fashion show in bellevue,gene juarez academy student,runway hair,

Sun
22

Today was such a fun day! I just got back from this year’s United Way Day of Caring Community Service Exchange. I went with a team of Gene Juarez students and educators down to the Qwest field to offer free haircuts and manicures for folks. People were helping people in all kinds of ways, from free glasses prescriptions, to new clothes, to doctor referrals, to back rubs. It was so exciting to be a part of a huge community event that was all about helping each other out.

All day I got to give basic manicures to all kinds of people. Every 20 minutes I had the privilege of hearing someone else’s story as I cared for their hands and nails. I was totally inspired by their stories of how they were caring for themselves and their families even when they had lost their jobs or their homes. It was enjoyable for me to do something as simple as give a hand massage or polish nails, and know that it helped make their day special. I look forward to how many other ways we can continue to blend the values of community service and activism with our love for cosmetology.

TAGS: community outreach,free haircuts and manicures,Gene Juarez Academy,United Way,

Sun
22

The other ambassadors & I meet the new design class today. They are really nice but pretty quiet. I love being able to meet them because it reminds me of how I felt starting out. It’s so encouraging to see drive and anticipation for a new career.

The next school day, Izzy & I had lunch with the new design class. We had fun talking about hair cutting and finals coming up. It’s crazy to believe that was me a couple months ago!

TAGS: design class,gene juarez academy,student ambassadors,

Sun
22

I did it, I finally did it. My friend Aurora and I have been working so hard to achieve Feature Student Artist and we finally got it together. This requires a Student Artist to get 20 request guest and 10 product sales in one month. It was a really big achievement and I am so excited that I will be able to share this great success with future employers. It’s really cool too how they hang up like a little bio of you in the waiting room. Some of the guest I have gotten told me that they specifically asked for me because they saw my bio. So it’s a really big deal to achieve this and I would say that it is definitely worth all of the hard work.

TAGS: student artist featured for achievements,