What’s recently happened?
Students from the Hammond Area Career Center (ACC) competed at Regionals for SkillsUSA this past weekend. The ACC students were sent all over the Region to compete in different competitions. Students went anywhere from Elkhart to Merrillville for their specific competition. They competed in events for life skills such as mock job interviews, speeches, welding, video making, crime scene investigation, and cooking.
These competitions allowed students to see what areas they excelled in as well as see where they needed to improve. This also let students better prepare for the state competition coming up in April. At this point in the semester, students are working on fine-tuning their skills for internships and competitions to further put their names on the map. At Regionals, all ACC students placed and will be moving on to the state competition.
At the state level, students compete for a spot in the national competition. This competition will be held in Atlanta, Georgia in June. Students will spend just under a week down South this summer competing as well as sightseeing with their team of advisors and other competitors.
What’s coming up?
As students are approaching the downswing of the second semester, they now need to focus on their next steps. For the juniors at the ACC, this will be deciding if the program they chose was the right fit and if they want to continue or move on to something different. However, the seniors are in the final stages of their last year.
The seniors will decide what college or trade school they want to go to as well as have the opportunity to grow further in the internships they have picked up over the course of this school year.
The ACC still has some really exciting events for this portion of the school year. Students not only will have the opportunity to go to State for SkillsUSA, but they can also attend Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA) for the medical and dental students.
These students, much like the SkillsUSA competitors, will travel to compete with HOSA students across the state for a spot in the international competition held in Nashville, Tennessee this June. These are the two organizations students compete with at the ACC which allows them to get an idea of the industry competition adults see on a regular basis.
Staff spotlight:
Kimberly Jackson is the cosmetology teacher at the ACC. Jackson has been teaching the class since 1990. She is a career center graduate herself from the Gary Career Center. Prior to teaching this class, Jackson worked in the field as a hairstylist. She takes pride in teaching her students everything they need to know about the industry and in being able to watch them grow in and beyond the classroom.
“I really enjoy the students when they come in and when they are excited. They get to see the industry and see what cosmetology is really all about,” said Jackson.
Jackson has been working hard to get the students working with actual clients. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, students have had a hard time getting outside clients in the chair, and Jackson is trying to fix that.
“Before the pandemic, we had more clients that were walking in and coming into the school. It seems like after the pandemic, it has been hard for us to really get our walk-in clients back. I want to let them do more hands-on work,” said Jackson.
In class, students learn the entirety of the cosmetology industry as well as a general idea of what to expect. Jackson stresses to her students that they need to learn everything they can.
“Learn the industry and learn your options,” said Jackson. “Cosmetology is one of the great options out there if they decide to go into this career.”
Student spotlight:
Esmeralda Granda is a student at Hammond Central High School and is enrolled in the cosmetology class. She is all about learning the industry and trying something new. Before this class, she did not have much interest in doing hair, but she has changed her mind over the course of the class.
“I like the customer interactions in this class. It gives you socialization with other people and with the customers,” said Granda.
Granda has enjoyed the clientele she has received in this class. She likes interacting with other people and enjoys seeing the different styles and ideas that her clients bring to her.
After this class, Granda plans on going to college for radiology. Radiology does not follow cosmetology, so this explained her desire for variety in clients.
“I like being able to have options. Cosmetology is something I know well and I can utilize if radiology does not work out for me. I will always have something to fall back on,” said Granda.Like this commentReply