CLEARFIELD – Jen Womer is the secondary cosmetology instructor at the Clearfield County Career & Technology Center (CCCTC).
At the end of this hands-on, three-year program, the students will have 1,250 hours of training that allows them to sit for the certification exam. Upon passing the State Board Exam, the student is then licensed to practice cosmetology in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
As a child, Womer explains, she was always the kid that played with hair and makeup, styling family and friends’ hair and asking for manikin heads to style.
In high school, she attended a career and technology school to earn her hours of training and get her cosmetology license where her instructor became such an inspiration to her that she knew she wanted to teach.
Before becoming an instructor at CCCTC, Womer says she attended Penn State University where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in workforce education and development all while working in a salon.
Womer explained that becoming an instructor at the CCCTC was a great accomplishment for her. She wants to be a positive role model for high school students and help them. She says, “High school life is tough, and if you have struggles at home, it is a good feeling to know that a teacher is there to support you.”
The cosmetology curriculum is based off the Milady Standard and also customized lessons based off scenarios from a salon. Womer also still works in a salon to keep up-to-date with the current trends and techniques, and also to keep her creativity flowing.
She says creativity is her nature and she thrives on using it. Students in the program have a full-service salon environment that allow them to gain hands-on experience.
They are expected to acted professionally and run the school salon like a business. Throughout the program, students train in hair and skin care, nails, theatrical makeup, managing, teaching, owning a salon and more.
With the industry always changing and the ups and downs of the economy, Womer wants students to have the skills to obtain a good paying, high demand job, one that helps others feel good by helping them care about their image.
Past graduates have become managers for major corporate salons, opened their own salon and obtained more schooling to become instructors in the beauty industry. With the training they received at the CCCTC, a career in cosmetology can lead to a variety or professions in the beauty industry.
To learn more about the opportunities or to enroll in the cosmetology program at CCCTC, visit at www.ccctc.edu.