Southern Aveda Students, Educators Sweep Awards
Source: Aveda.edu
Hiring team members who have a passion for their craft and fit in with your salon’s culture is always a challenge. While it’s tempting to give up the search and hire the next person who comes through your door, never fear: talented, driven stylists are out there—and they’re worth the wait.
Recently, some of these outstanding students were honored when Aveda hosted the Edwin Neill II Full Potential Awards for students and educators at Aveda Institutes across the country.
Here, we’re highlighting these future professionals and the educators who provide the motivation and inspiration to turn them into pros you want to hire.
Competition Details
Students who enter the Edwin Neill II Full Potential Awards create a three-person team that must complete makeup, haircut, color, and styling on a model. Teams can be made up of three students or three educators.
The first round is completed in school, photographed, and submitted. The finalists move to the second round, which is held on-site with a professional photographer. Round two pushes students to prepare, execute and style the second look in a professional setting, mimicking a real-world editorial process.
Contest submissions must use all Aveda products on natural hair.
Source: Sarah Evans
Creation, Inspiration, and Motivation
For students who’ve never entered a competition before, the process can be intimidating. But when their instructors lead the way, inspiration strikes.
“When the competition was announced, we knew we wanted to enter to inspire our students,” says Sarah Evans, Director, Aveda Arts & Sciences Institute Baton Rouge, and first-place winner in the educator category. “They are our main focus. It was also nice to have an outlet to showcase our creativity and craft.”
Winning Teams Share Success Secrets
Southern Aveda Arts & Sciences Institutes swept the most recent Full Potential Awards, with students and educators representing many locations across the South and Southeastern U.S.
Taylor Longshaw and J’nae Carmon of the Aveda Arts & Sciences Institute Austin, won first place even though they only found out about the competition two days before they needed to submit.
“We looked at past winners for ideas and inspiration, and our models were willing to do wild colors,” the duo said.
“I’ve never done a hair competition before, and learned it’s okay to step out of my comfort zone,”
says Carmon. “And I found I can work well on a team and on a set.”
Longshaw adds, “Our instructors came through for us when we were trying to formulate colors, helping us see how the colors would look on the hair. And it was so rewarding to see our looks getting photographed when we finished.”
Both women have found their competitive spirit and look forward to pushing their creative limits even more when they become stylists.
“Participating in this competition opened my eyes to a whole other world of creativity,” says Carmon.
Longshaw adds,
“It has opened our eyes to other avenues in the beauty industry.”
Evans’ Baton Rouge Aveda Arts & Sciences team, who won first place in the educator category, says her team was inspired by Prince’s “Purple Rain.”
“Amanda Pierce started the process with the hair color,” Evans says. “Then Crystal Armwood constructed a haircut and style that suited the aesthetic and model. I looked at the makeup as a finishing touch, and chose colors that balanced the look. During the photoshoot, everything came together beautifully. We allowed each other to go through our creative process and tried to complement each other’s work.”
Source: Sarah Evans
Armwood says, “Working together as a team was really rewarding.”
“We won with the combination of all of our creative abilities.”
“And the experience has inspired me to do more—more for the company, more competitions—I’m inspired to find that full potential in myself.”
Reaching Their Full Potential
In addition to Aveda Arts & Sciences Austin and Baton Rouge, winners also included:
Aveda Arts & Sciences New Orleans:
3rd place student winners
Brianne Cannatella, Terri Daniels and Tevia Schroeder
Source: Aveda.edu
Aveda Arts & Sciences Birmingham:
3rd place educator winners
Melissa Martin, Matthew Funchess and Payton Harbin
“I entered Full Potential because I wanted to create something unique to share with others and outside of school that can benefit my skills in the long run,” says Cannatella.
“My educators helped me by formulating custom colors to fit the model’s skin tone and my vision,” she adds.
“They were also our teams’ biggest supporters!”
Funchess says his students provided inspiration for his team.
“The youth, passion, and drive that I see on a daily basis with our ever-changing industry keeps me on my toes! This was also an opportunity to show the students that older styles are still just as legit now as they were in the ’60s and ’70s.”
To see more Edwin Neill II Full Potential student competition submissions, click here.
