Empire beauty school students enter competition

Brig Van Osten poses with Empire beauty school students at the 2010 Future Professionals Expo and Competition in Hershey, PA

Empire's 2010 Future Professionals Expo and Competition held in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

THE DETAILS: The Empire Education Beauty Group's two-day event for beauty school students and educators featured an impressive competition and exhibit floor, and included an invitation to spend the evening at Hershey amusement park, which opened exclusively for the Empire students. The 96 Empire schools in 20 states boast more than 15,000 currently enrolled students. Almost 600 students entered the competition and more than 1,900 attended the expo. Frank Schoeneman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Empire Education Group, said this, the 39th year of Empire student competitions, was the largest in its history.

WHO'S WHO: Industry icons were everywhere. Geno Stampora offered a motivating speech, Shear Genius 3 winner Brig Van Osten met with many of the beauty school students, Jan Arnold of CND judged and Joe Santy, salon owner, author and VP of education for Dennis Bernard, Inc., interviewed aspiring salon professionals.

HIGHLIGHTS: According to attendees one of the most exciting presentations of the event was offered by Nick Arrojo and his team as he cut on stage teaching the latest in trend and razor cutting. The presentation of his "Masters of Beauty" program added additional inspiration. Arrojo capped his presentation with a special comment: "The future of the cosmetology industry is in this room."

THE WINNERS: To make it to the national competition, students had to win or be selected from their beauty schools. While many awards were offered, the winners of the floor competition were:
Long Hair Evening: Lindsay Krug from Hanover, Pennsylvania
Female Trend Cut and Style with Color: Milagros Rodriques of NE Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Artistic Braid Design: Crystal Grate of Pottsville, Pennsylvania
Nail Art Display: Tiffany Manning from Gwinnette, Georgia
Men's Cut, Color and Style Storyboard: Bobbie Jo Lorenzetti from Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania
Make-Up Artistry Storyboard: Bao Thao from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

A special award was offered to Educator of the Year: Michaele Schaeffer from Exton, Pennsylvania, and to the 2010 National Future Professional of the Year, Tiffany Powell.