Recently, the Coahoma Community College Cosmetology and Barber/Stylist programs traveled
to Orlando, Florida, to attend the Premiere Orlando | Beauty Trade Show Event.
The event, which took place on October 16, 2021, is a tradeshow for the professional beauty industry where licensed professionals connect with manufacturers and distributors of hair, nail, and skincare products. According to Trade Show News Network, Premiere Orlando | Beauty Trade Show Event is the largest beauty show in the United States.
The Beauty Industry's annual worth was reported at $532.43 billion in 2017 and is expected to reach a market value of $805.61 billion a year by 2023. While that may be motivating in itself for potential practitioners, to someone who hasn't seen it in full view, it takes a little more convincing.
For that reason, Nancy Howard, lead Cosmetology instructor, thought it necessary that her students receive the much-needed exposure that the event had to offer.
"Exposing new students to the professional beauty industry early in their experience helps provide a different insight into the industry than the regular classroom setting. It's an educational motivator for the students as well as the instructors," said Howard. "Students that attended the Premiere Orlando Show were able to gain a wealth of knowledge from some of the world's top beauty industry professionals. It was such a joy to see our students walking the floors of the Orange County Convention Center, searching for the required classes that they attended daily."
In an interesting happening, some of the students were lucky enough to participate in the course of a former CCC Barbering student, Jerome Demonte '98. Because of his status in the industry, Demonte has been featured in many magazines. The list includes Style for Life, Metro Styles Atlanta, Black Hair Sophisticates, and Hype Hair. He is known as J-Rok in a Fantasy Hair competition on the Oxygen TV network and featured on the hit reality TV show "Hair Battle Spectacular." Since the show, Demonte has been a hairstylist on many TV and movie sets such as The Game, Hunger Games 3 & 4, Magic Mike, Vampire Diaries, The Have and Have Nots, and many more.
Howard was glad to see her students light up with intrigue and hopes to expose them to many more like events.
"I've never seen the students more excited! They were fueled by what they saw, and
that was one of the goals," Howard shared. "The
students left wanting more, asking when was the next show and how can they sign up
for more. And more of it is definitely what the students need!"
Howard recently took over the helm of the Cosmetology program and hopes to bring innovative ideas that expand learning, exposure and ultimately aid her students in moving forward toward their dreams.
"We will definitely attend more hair shows, classes, and seminars and possibly host some of our own here at Coahoma Community College. My vision is a little larger than our student budget at the moment. Still, I'm confident that it will increase as we continue to remain dedicated to keeping a close relationship between our students and the Beauty Industry," Howard explained. "One of my many goals is to expose our students to more."
Howard is driven by her passion for helping students reach the next level. It brings her great joy to see students achieve beyond their imagination.
"I'm excited every morning driving to class, knowing that our students get to learn something new and master something they've been practicing for months. I want to help students tap into something they haven't discovered about themselves, Howard exclaimed excitedly! "That inner greatness that they have to excel and be great. Excellent students come our way, and sometimes they need to hear that it's okay, you're going to make mistakes, you're going to get frustrated, mad, and at times exhausted, but you're not alone, and we're going to finish together, STRONG!"
Howard has a personal connection to the Coahoma program, being that she once attended the institution.
"I often share my personal story of how I enrolled in Cosmetology at CCC in the fall of 1994. I was clueless about hair. I had never touched anybody's hair a day in my life, but I didn't let that stop me. Within my first couple of months, I recall mistakenly burning one of my classmate's long hair, and the entire piece fell to the floor," Howard candidly shared. "I was embarrassed, scared, yet optimistic about my future in the Beauty Industry. I developed a great passion for my craft, a passion that still fuels me 27 years later."
It's an honor and a pleasure to meet the needs of our students here at Coahoma Community College. We are dedicated to providing each student with the necessary skillsets to pass our Mississippi State Board of Cosmetology state exam and become productive individuals in this industry.
Howard looks forward to continuing to be of service and encourages anyone who has a passion for the beauty industry to take advantage of what Coahoma has to offer.
"We will excitedly welcome new students in the fall of 2022, and WE want YOU! You don't have to have any prior experience in hair, nails, or skin to join the CCC Cosmetology program," said Howard. "We know what it takes, and we're willing to give you twice as much!"
For more information about the Cosmetology program or to join the program's fall 2022 waitlist, please contact us at 662.621.4180 nhoward@coahomacc.edu.