This school year, there’s been a new career and technical education course at Cibola High School: aesthetics. Not in the sense of philosophy, but rather, cosmetology — skincare and beauty, to be precise.
It might not seem like an obvious CTE offering, but cosmetology has become popular with Yuma Union High School District students. The first program was made available in 2023 through the Southwest Technical Education District of Yuma (STEDY), and it consistently fills up.
But now, Stefani Stevenson is teaching aesthetics at Cibola, a whole new program. Although this kind opportunity wasn’t available to her when she was in high school, she’s glad to be changing that for her students.
"Growing up, I always liked hair and makeup and all of those great things, and so I thought, 'Wow, what a great opportunity' if we can give more students that actual avenue, that career path where they can explore and, you know, dabble in makeup and facials so that when they go out into the real world, if that's something that they want to do, they're prepared to take on that challenge."
While students don't earn licenses through this course, Stevenson said they plan to eventually have a lab so that student can enter the workforce right after graduation. But in the meantime, they should still see benefits.
"Thiis will give them an idea before they go and spend $10,000, $15,000 on an esthetic school or a cosmetology school, gives them the opportunity to explore what it is without any financial risk to them," she said.
In the aesthetics class, students learn things like how chemicals interact with skin, the importance of hygiene and color theory for different complexions.
"As part of our CTE program, we like to invite industry members into our classroom so that the students just don't hear us talk about the industry," Stevenson said. "They can get firsthand experience about people who are still currently in the industry."
Among these guests were Kelly's Brows, who taught the students about brow waxing and threading, and an esthetician named Zulaika, who taught students about giving facials.
When KAWC visited the class, Beauty Bar business owner, Jackie Alves, was teaching the students about making their own lip glosses. She was more than just a guest, however. Alves has partnered with the class to offer her own master class in makeup. That began when Stevenson brought some students to her business.
"She brought them for a field trip over to the Beauty Bar — I own a makeup studio here in Yuma, over in the mall — and they were just beside themselves. We had so much fun when they were there and they were like, 'oh my God!' I was like, 'Yes, you too can own a makeup studio someday!'" Alves said. "And I also have a makeup academy there, so they were really excited. It's almost like an extension of what they get to do here."
Having a cosmetology license, Stevenson has a lot of experience with hairdressing and giving facials, but Alves explained that cosmetology schools don't necessarily teach makeup. That's why Stevenson approached her about instructing the students in makeup. After hashing it out, the pair decided to roll out a "master class."
In order to pay for Alves' instruction, the students are selling a special Cibola eyeshadow palette. What's unique about the palette, however, is that it was entirely designed by students.
"They actually got to invent their own, create the formulas, create the shades, and then design the logo for the front and the back and the color of the palette, everything," she said.
The aesthetics club, which runs in addition to the class, designed the palette.
"Our purpose for the palette was for, like, shows or everyday wear. We wanted to make a combination of that, so like glam with also casual everyday wear," said Jackeline Rios, a junior in the class. "That's why we chose different browns and, like, cream colors. And then the gold, blacks and whites were for more showy, more flashy, and that was that was a really big process. I'm really proud to have been part of that."
Rios and the other students have been hard at work selling their palettes. One of her peers, Damaris Luna, has even been recommending it to her clients. Although just a high school junior, she also has a nail business.
"It's been going for three years now, and I would like to expand my areas, like, in eyelashes and hair and waxing and stuff, so, like, I would like to cover like most of that," Luna said. "I would like to open my salon in the future and like, I'll like add these things and like make a huge business. Yeah, that's my dream."
She shared that the class has really helped her develop her entrepreneurial skills.
"We also learned, like, how to gain clients and, like, how to keep engaged with them, how to make your clientele, and that helped me so much with my own business, like ideas, like of how to get your business out there."
Students have been learning quite a bit in aesthetics. KAWC asked them to share some of the most surprising and interesting things they’ve learned. Here's what they said:
"I wouldn't say it's important, but yesterday, something that did stand out to me was where makeup originated from and all the stuff that they used to put on their face before now, Like obviously the things that we put on our face, yes, some can be bad, but before, they were putting, like, lead on their face and they would get like, like red spots or dark spots and they would just keep adding more, and that's how they became sick."
— Julieta Renteria, junior
"There's a lot of machinery that goes in it, too. My first, like, month in this class, Ms. Stevenson brought in a machine that — it was so weird. It was like an X-ray, but you put your face in it and it shines like certain lights on your face, and it helps you see what's like the kind of skin you have on your face. Different colors would mean different conditions, so like the yellowish white would mean blackheads. Dark purple would mean hyperpigmentation and so on."
— Jackeline Rios, junior
"I think it was like more about the makeup, about like colors, like face shapes. Like I found out my face shape. I never knew my face shape, and then I found out, like, 'Oh, like, I've been doing this wrong my whole entire life. Like, no wonder it didn't look good!' Like, she (Alves) like, helped me know, like, what would look good on me. What type of hairstyle. What, like color of makeup when I do my eyeshadow and stuff."
— Damaris Luna, junior
On makeup specifically, Jackie Alves said she wanted to go with basics that would benefit beginners since most of the makeup artists she knows started from the bottom.
"There's a lot of different things you can learn, so I wanted to do something mainstream," she said. "So I chose soft glam to kind of go through makeup basics first, like basic makeup application cover, some sanitation, different skin types and skin tones, color theory, but then go into basic makeup application and soft glam just because those are the most popular, and that's what people are paying for right now."
But are people really paying for these services in Yuma?
"I know a lot because I have to run a business according to the demand, and thank God there's a lot. But I think that has a lot to do with our large Hispanic population," Alves said. "There's lots of quinceañeras, so we love that, you know, because they get treated like a wedding, they're just as important and they dress up just as much and the makeup is just as extravagant
"... Because the demand is so high, I get to actually bless a lot of other makeup artists with the opportunity to live their dream and do makeup too. It's not all for me. I get to share."
When asked about student engagement, Alves reported at least half of them are extremely engaged, especially with makeup. The students who spoke with KAWC affirmed this.
"It's been really fun because you get to be, like, you get to use your creativity and you have a lot of freedom," said Renteria. "Like for example, right now, like we get to do any color and the makeup looks. Like during October time when we were doing like the special effects makeup, like we got to pick any design and it's just really like, there's a lot of freedom in this class!"
Some of the students came into this class dreaming of a career in cosmetology, like Luna who aspires to open a salon someday. But others, like Renteria, see this as a potential trade to keep in their back pocket.
Rios, however, is a little in between. When she was a child, she wanted to become an artist or an animator. But when her mother had breast cancer, she became more interested in medicine.
"After I got into aesthetics, I started realizing — you know, I told my mom about it. She's like, 'You know what? This could be a really good thing for you.' It has art, like makeup art. It's something I'm really interested in, which is art," Rios said. "And then she also — beauty is a big part of her life as well. Like a lot of women, majority of women — it's a huge part of their life. And I realized, you know, some people who are going through those things just want to feel beautiful. That can also restore confidence in people. And I'm like, you know what? This is what I want to do. I want to help people feel confident in themselves, feel beautiful."
And in her view, this class goes far beyond just teaching beauty.
"I feel like I could mention that this class could be for anybody," she said. "Like it's not just about, like, makeup and consumerism and stuff like that. It's also about life skills. This class has also taught me some business skills. It's taught me life skills. It's also taught me how to cooperate with others who don't have the same views as you. That's very important."
To learn more about aesthetics at Cibola, contact Stefani Stevenson at sstevenson@yumaunion.org. Folks interested in the Cibola eyeshadow palette can email her as well or visit the Beauty Bar in the Yuma Palms Mall.
Reporting for this article is supported by a grant from the Arizona Local News Foundation.
