To be the best school, you need the best educators. Educator Exposition 3, therefore, profiles Rachel, a stylist whose career embodies the value of knowledge, a teacher who personifies our passion to raise standards in hairdressing education.
Rachel’s career began as an ARROJO studio apprentice, where she passed the in-house advanced training program with flying colors. 22-months long, with a detailed examination of the theoretical and practical knowledge of each stylist, the program gave Rachel the skills and experience that enabled her to become a top-class hairdressing talent, with credits including high-fashion runway shows for Wella; hairstyling for TLC’s What Not to Wear; creating avant-garde shape and style for New York Fashion Week; making commercials with Macy’s and Garnier Fructis; and a feature in Redbook magazine.
“Coming to ARROJO studio as an apprentice was the best thing I’ve done for my career. The education is so strong; it gave me the knowledge that I hold today. I was well prepared to work in high-end salons, take advantage of editorial opportunities, and, eventually, become a full-time educator, which is what I am today,” Rachel says.
With stints as Color Coach at Aveda Cosmetology School and Education Leader for Paul Mitchell Cosmetology, Rachel’s credits as an educator are as impressive as the ones she holds for styling. “I realize,” says Rachel, “it was education that gave me such a great start to my career, and now I love being able to pass on what I have learned to the future of this industry. As a modern cosmetology educator, I have a unique opportunity to give my students an education that is better than anything that has gone before. If I can do that it means standards in the industry will go up and up, and I will have helped launch hairdressing to the next level.”
It is this selfless commitment to teach that brought Rachel back to ARROJO, and the newly opened ARROJO Cosmetology School, in late 2009. “I have worked for many different companies, and I am thrilled to be back at ARROJO. The standards are so high, the vision to improve the industry through education so clear, that I couldn’t imagine working at any other school. The level of work we see from our students is truly amazing - it validates my decision to return; validates our whole approach to the art and craft of cosmetology education,” she says.
Rachel’s day-to-day approach emphasizes the details that can make the difference between the good and the great. “I like to focus, not only on how we do things, but on why we do them. When I went to Cosmetology School I did things because I was told to, without ever being given the theory behind it. My focus is to make sure each student understands the theory behind why things are done in a certain way. Theory is the key to the door of creative expression. Once it is properly understood, any kind of cut, color, or style is possible,” says Rachel.
The final step is to ensure each student knows that Graduation is just the beginning, Rachel concludes: “It’s vital our students understand that with the education they get, they are the top one-percent of cosmetology Graduates heading out into the real world. They all have extraordinarily bright futures and I’m proud to be charged with making sure that they realize that they are the vanguard of the next generation of stylists to enter the hairdressing craft.”
To watch Rachel work her magic on set for NBC’s Wednesdays Child, please click here: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/station/as-seen-on/Wednesday_s_Child_4_14__Meet_Jasmine_New_York.html
Tags: Educators, Enrollment, Student, Testimonials