When Jenna Osberg was 7, she found a mannequin head among her Christmas presents and decided to become a cosmetologist.

By high school, the Epsom resident was searching for programs. She finally found one this fall when she became one of the first cosmetology students at Concord Regional Technology Center.

"I just got all excited and looked into it because it's something I've always wanted to do," said Osberg, now 17, as she formed a giant spider from the hair of another mannequin.

Compared with the orange braids, cobwebbed ponytails and ornamental spiders adorning other heads, her entry for today's Halloween hairdo contest showed restraint.

Two classes of junior girls and another of seniors worked yesterday morning at their mirrored stations in the new cosmetology studio inside Concord High School. They teased and twisted, curled and combed the real human hair on more than 60 identical mannequin heads whose beauty is entrusted to them. The studio's accent lights changed from purple to blue to green as the girls worked.

Then the pop music went still, and they turned.

"Ladies, I see a violation," said instructor Kimberly Hannon. "Miss Kimberly" to her students, Hannon managed a salon and taught cosmetology in special education classes before taking on the new Concord program.

Two girls ran to close a cabinet door above the sinks.

"That would be a no-no if the state board came through," Hannon said.

The cosmetology program had been discussed for 10 years before it opened this fall, said Steve Rothenberg, director of the Concord Regional Technology Center. Like the center's eight other programs, it is available to students from Concord and neighboring districts interested in exploring a career. Students meet for 1½ hours each day. If they pass an exam at the end of the two-year program, they can earn between 300 and 400 hours of credit they can apply toward cosmetology school.

As a senior, Kaitlyn Minakin will have only one year of the program before she graduates from Concord High. But Minakin, who calls herself a "hand-on type of person," said she is excited to study cosmetology in college.

"I've always been looking for a career," she said. "Why not be in a career you love doing?"

Before they get to glamour, first-year students must learn to wash their hands and shake their clients', Hannon said. The year will also see them shampooing, styling and applying color, but they won't get to cut hair, wax or do nails until year two. More than anything, Hannon said, she sees her job as imparting professionalism and warmth to students who will refine their skills in cosmetology school.

"People want to hear their name," she said. "People want to be remembered."

On the whiteboard, a schedule of workbook assignments shared space with the Dress Code: "Must wear closed toed shoes. No exceptions." And "no ripped pants."

Single page