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Postgrad Cosmetology Program at Minuteman Technical Institute in Lexington Now Accepting Applications for School Year 2014-15

Grads affirm value and practicality of their training

 

By Judy Bass

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“I’m living my passion,” says Patricia King-Shaw, owner of Monument Style, an elegant salon that opened in November 2012 in Concord at the Colonial Inn in Monument Square.  “I [first] realized it was possible at Minuteman.”

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King-Shaw is referring to the Postgraduate Cosmetology Program offered by the Minuteman Technical Institute in Lexington.  In 2008, she graduated from this rigorous, year-long program and now, as a successful business owner, licensed cosmetologist and stylist, King-Shaw looks back with gratitude and appreciation for the doors of opportunity it opened for her.

 

When she accidentally discovered the program, King-Shaw didn’t seem to be headed for a career in Cosmetology.  She had earned a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley, but years later, circumstances converged unexpectedly to shift her professional focus.

 

King-Shaw’s older daughter, an eighth grader at the time, was taking an after-school class at Minuteman High School, where the Technical Institute is housed.   King-Shaw, then in her 40s, had arrived to pick her daughter up at Minuteman and mistakenly found herself on the floor where the school’s Cosmetology program is.

 

Noting the inviting atmosphere of the reception area, which mirrors that of a typical salon, King-Shaw struck up a friendly conversation with Cynthia DeMaio, who runs the program and happened to be working late that day.

 

King-Shaw’s daughter sensed on the spot that the Cosmetology program was a perfect fit for her mom.   When DeMaio gave King-Shaw the paperwork to apply for a place in the class, that gesture truly sealed the deal.

 

“I went home practically skipping,” she recalls with a chuckle.  “It was just amazing.”

 

King-Shaw’s initial elation never waned.  Not only was the program just minutes from her home, but she also says she really warmed to the mix of students, who ranged in age from 19 to 53 and came from a wide variety of backgrounds. 

 

Additionally, King-Shaw praises the Minuteman program’s emphasis on instructing students how to appropriately present themselves in appearance and demeanor.  They were firmly told to cover their tattoos, have immaculately groomed hair, not to wear jewelry in their body piercings if they have them, be prompt, and always provide outstanding customer service. 

 

In fact, today, as a salon owner herself, King-Shaw says she looks for those same key hallmarks of professionalism when people apply for positions at Monument Style.

 

“When a stylist comes to me for an interview,” she says, “that matters to me.”

 

King-Shaw lauds the range of material covered by the curriculum, from interfacing with actual clients to do their hair, nails, and offer skin care, to going on field trips to visit salons and see guest speakers from the industry doing demonstrations on topics like hair relaxing and straightening.

 

The nuts and bolts of the business side of Cosmetology are introduced, too.  King-Shaw says she learned how to create a portfolio, negotiate a lease contract for a salon, manage, order, and catalog supplies, and effectively present to potential partners what her vision was for her establishment.

 

She learned those lessons so thoroughly that she got the green light to make Monument Style the first salon ever based at the Colonial Inn, a prime location.

 

The program covers some 30 Cosmetology-related subjects – manicuring, hair shaping, scalp treatments, customer service, foiling, highlighting, and much more. Students who complete it are positioned to earn an MTI Cosmetology Certificate and OSHA 10-Hour General Safety Certification, and are eligible to take the exam for the Massachusetts State Board of Cosmetology Operator's License.  (The program has a 100 per cent pass rate by its graduates on the exam for this licensure).

 

Two 2014 graduates of the program, Katie Greeley, 20, and Kayla Fitzgerald, 21, both of Arlington, spoke highly of the program’s instructors, Ms. DeMaio and Ms. Pauline Halko, who is mentioned on the Monument Style web site (www.monumentstylesalon.com) as being “particularly influential in helping Patricia [King-Shaw] develop her stylist skills.”

 

Greeley, who is currently doing makeup for customers at Lord & Taylor in Burlington and hopes to eventually own a salon geared for people with special needs, says the Cosmetology teachers worked with her closely, one on one, to master skills such as haircutting. 

 

“The teachers love helping [students],” she says.  “They go over every single thing you will face in a salon [on the job].”

 

Fitzgerald voiced her own high regard for the program.  In a written statement, she says, “Minuteman provided me with exceptionally helpful hands-on training from a professional and supportive staff.  I was grateful to know about the Cosmetology program Minuteman offers because the tuition was affordable and almost half of what other programs are asking for…Minuteman presented me with a wonderful opportunity and I feel fortunate to have been able to take advantage of it.”

 

Says Greeley, “Don’t let worries hold you back [from applying].  It’s unbelievable what you get [from this program].”

 

As King-Shaw summarized, “The opportunity is limitless.” 

 

 

The Postgraduate Cosmetology Program at Minuteman Technical Institute starts on September 2, 2014; applications are being accepted until August 15, 2014. To learn more, please visit www.minutemanTI.org and go to Postgraduate Programs or call 781-861-7151.

 


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