Guest Blogger  Alex Alchimio, Financial Aid Officer (pictured Left, dressed as a FAFSA for Halloween 2010)

Greeting from the Financial Aid Office at Bellus Academy-Poway!!! I’m Alex Alchimio, the Financial Aid Officer for this campus.  I would like to bring to everyone’s attention to the current status on the PELL Grant for the 2011-2012 fiscal year.

I must say, it was touch and go for a couple of months on whether or not the current administration was going to decrease the maximum grant amount to somewhere around $4000 for a full financial aid award year, and I was feeling a bit discouraged as the PELL grant generally increases each year.

You’re probably saying, “Alex,  out with it!! Are we getting less free money or not??”

Here’s your answer, folks: No, the Pell grant is actually going to stay the SAME as it was for the 2010-2011 fiscal year. This means that maximum eligibility for the federal PELL grant will be $5550.

This is great news!! As a financial aid professional, I would rather have the PELL amount stay the same and be able to help my students maximize on all the programs the Department of Education has to offer to our future leaders!

Let’s just cross our fingers and hope that next year the grant increases, but until then let’s have a great year!!!

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Guest Blogger Bradley Quick, Cosmetology Floor Manager at Bellus Academy

The profession of cosmetology can be rewarding yet very challenging, particularly when first beginning one’s career as a hairdresser.  I encounter this on a regular basis as floor manager here at Bellus Academy.  The challenges and struggles that a student goes through during their time here are what will define them throughout their career in this industry.  I would like to take some time to discuss the main challenges I see and how my students have prospered through them to be successful students and salon ready stylists.

The first hurdle in becoming great at any profession is knowledge.  You cannot become great at something unless you have direct knowledge of how to achieve greatness in that field.  The ability to learn from a structured environment is essential in our profession.  The student must become a sponge and absorb all the information that comes from that structure.  One must then take what has been taught to them and practice relentlessly.

The second challenge facing our students is confidence.  Once a student has acquired the knowledge of how to be a stylist then they must perform.  This is where I see a lot of students struggle.  They understand the concepts, but are lacking the confidence to act them out.  This is where practice makes perfect.  Hairstyling is a profession where trial and error is critical.  Some of our most remarkable achievements have come from mistakes or what I like to call discoveries!!!  Confidence comes with time and attitude.

Finally I would like to speak a little about growth.  This is an area that is vital to becoming a successful hairstylist.  When one stops growing they are doomed for failure.  All too often a student can lose motivation or the ability to want to grow each and every day.  This is a profession where we can learn from instructors, books, videos, co-workers and even our clients.  As stylists we have a duty to continue to grow and realize our fullest potential so that we offer our clients the utmost in quality.

If our students can obtain the knowledge, the confidence, and see growth throughout their time here at Bellus Academy, I have no doubt in my mind each and every one of them will be highly successful in a tremendous industry such as ours.

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Guest Blogger Kelly Straeter, Academy Manager

Elessa Vovan, You Tube sensation and Purse Buzz founder hosted the first Purse Buzz Mixer at Bellus Academy on March 26th.  (Left, pictured with Lynelle Lynch, Owner and President of Bellus Academy.) Over 200 guests attended from as far as Washington and Arizona.  The day included famous makeup artists as well as up and coming beauty products.  Guests were treated to mini services such as Shellac, chair massages, mini facials, deep conditioning treatments and makeup touch ups.  The day also included a buffet catered by Beach Grass Café, complete with Hello Kitty cupcakes.

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Guest Blogger Rafael Benitez, Academy Manager El Cajon Campus

In March, future professionals attending El Cajon had the opportunity to invite friends to enjoy a day in the life of a JE Boutique student at our “Bring a Friend to School” event. There were 30 participants in our day and evening classes combined.

In April we hosted our second annual Industry Appreciation Event at our El Cajon Campus. Attendees included partner salons, prospective students and industry professionals. The evening included hors d’oeuvres and refreshments as well as a list of sample treatments like Pumpkin Peel Hand Treatments, Paraffin Hand Ttreatments, Deep Conditioning Hair Treatments, and Thermal Styling. In addition, we had artistic demonstrations from some of the industry’s top professionals such as Diego Raviglione and Jeffrey Floyd. Kristina Monique demonstrated the art of beautiful makeup and air brushing. Judy Edelman did a sneak preview demonstration of  Nova Lash – Lash extension applications.

Our Future Professionals are so talented that they were asked to do the hair and makeup for a contestant in the Miss El Cajon beauty pageant, who was crowned Runner-Up.

In keeping with our pledge to revolutionize beauty education, JE Boutique is gearing up to enhance our curriculum. We are very excited to upgrade our educational offerings in business and haircutting with the addition of Bellus Best in Business and the Bellus S.T.A.R. Precision Haircutting System.

Bellus Best in Business is a revolutionary in classroom and web based lecture system that will prepare future professionals for success in developing and growing their artistic talents in to a business that is both fulfilling and lucrative.

The Bellus S.T.A.R. Precision Haircutting System is a system that enables the student to grow both technically and creatively by being able to expand their knowledge using the Nick Education site that includes over 50 creative and technical haircuts and growing.

Come see how we are revolutionizing beauty education and truly live in the belief that Beauty Changes Lives!

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