A valued partnership has returned for Cosmetology students at the Center for Career Services. On Friday, Oct. 9, several seniors visited the Ronald McDonald House in Valhalla, where they provided beauty services to mothers staying there.

The visits will take place one Friday each month throughout the school year. Services include manicures, with simple haircuts and blowouts also offered.

The partnership will allow students to earn work-based learning hours on real clients and build interpersonal skills alongside their technical ones.

For the mothers, the visits offer a welcome pause.

“The Ronald McDonald House is amazing, because life is very stressful right now,” said Brittany Hood-Solon, a resident of Walden. “I haven’t been able to relax in a few weeks, so this is very nice.”

For students, the experience goes beyond the classroom. Work-based learning hours outside of school are often limited to job shadowing because students typically cannot work on clients without a licensed instructor present.

"This gives them an opportunity to work on a client outside of their classroom," said Tracy Reeves, a Work-Based Learning Coordinator at Career Services and a former cosmetology teacher. "It's kind of like an internship for them."

“You have to be mature, very respectful and mindful that it’s not a student or a friend. It’s someone else you’re working on,” said Olivia Chiarello, a Cosmetology student from Eastchester High School. “As a senior, it’s important to get this experience now and get into a groove.”

Reeves holds a cosmetology teaching license, which allows her to supervise students on site while instructors continue teaching on campus.

Jaime Larmon, another Work-Based Learning Coordinator, helped run a similar program before the COVID-19 pandemic. "Moms really appreciated it because they don't think of self-care when their child is sick," Larmon said.

The two first began working to bring the program back last school year.

As the program continues, participating students will rotate each month. Teachers recommended students who were comfortable with the work, and Reeves met with them beforehand to review expectations and professionalism.

"They're giving back to their community in a good way," Reeves said. "It's a win-win situation."

Looking ahead, organizers hope to add haircuts and eventually offer barbering for fathers at the House.

"We really feel like this is just going to continue to grow," Larson said.