For many people, the cost of beauty school can be a burden. Young, aspiring cosmetology students can catch a huge break with Plant City's in-house program, though – and the current students want to spread the word.
This is the mission of Kaylee Franklin, Sarah Shannon and Rebecca Handley, who have made and are promoting their own PCHS Cosmetology recruiting video for an upcoming SkillsUSA competition. They've sent the video to Tomlin and Marshall middle schools, hoping to convince incoming freshmen to get involved right away.
"We have a program here at Plant City that teaches girls and guys that you can have this career straight out of high school," Shannon says. "It's really awesome."
In the video, middle school students get a glimpse of everything the Plant City program has to offer: hair, nails and facial areas, test mannequins, washing and drying stations and everything else most salons have to offer clients.
"With cosmetology, you have three years of expenses, which totals to $225 for all three years," Franklin says. "If you were to go to a beauty school, you would have four years of schooling with a tuition of $40,000 a year."
The video will be part of the trio's SkillsUSA project, which asks such students to connect what they do with the American spirit. This asks the students to split their work into three pieces for the competition: career and outreach, community service and patriotism and citizenship.
Shannon, assigned to career and outreach, took on the video and its promotion.
Handley, assigned to community service, highlights the program's work with the Raider Buddies club as its community service factor. Every year, the cosmetology students partner with the special-needs group for the "Every Buddy's Beautiful" fashion show. They help the special-needs students with hair, makeup and clothing before going on stage, often bringing a comedic twist through costumes and dance routines.
"They can dress up however they want," Handley says. "It's a lot of fun. And all the proceeds go back to them."
Franklin, assigned to the patriotism category, says that giving high school students the chance to graduate with the ability to jump right into a career embodies America's working spirit.
The SkillsUSA statewide competition will be held at the Lakeland Center from Sunday, April 24, through Wednesday, April 27. It will consist of PCHS and schools from six regions throughout Florida. Should the PCHS students place, they'll get to compete nationally during the summer. Beyond the video, PCHS will send 21 students to states for various other competitions, including skills competitions and a Family Feud-esque cosmetology quiz bowl.