Waiariki hairdressing students a cut above the competition

Tuesday, 16 August 2011

Waiariki hairdressing students a cut above the competition

When the pressure was on, Waiariki Institute of Technology hairdressing students – and a tutor – performed a cut above the rest.

The future hairdressers won an impressive eight our of 12 pre-apprentice awards recently at the 2011 Regional Fashion Hair Design Awards in Tauranga, and a Waiariki tutor went home a winner as well.

The stiff competition, hosted by New Zealand Association of Registered Hairdressers (NZARH) and open to students and professionals from throughout the Bay of Plenty, didn’t seem to phase Kimberley Littlejohn who took home two of the awards.

Kimberley is in her final year of the Certificate in Hairdressing (Advanced) on the Rotorua campus. She won first place in the Pre-apprentice Consumer Colour section, and then won third place in the Avant Garde section where she competed against 35 other entrants which included fully qualified, professional salon stylists and apprentices.

“The awards were such fun and good experience for me,” she said. “It was really hot next to the lights so it taught me to work under different pressures. I am really glad Waiariki gave me the opportunity to compete as I am able to put my name out there.”

The Waiariki students came from all four campuses (Rotorua, Taupo, Tokoroa and Whakatane) to be judged on their styling, cutting and colouring skills.

The student winners included:

• Pre-apprentice Consumer Colour
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o 1st place: Kimberley Littlejohn (Rotorua);
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o 3rd place: Priya Piakash (Rotorua); and
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o 4th place: Kristel Phillips (Whakatane)

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• Pre-apprentice Day Style
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o 4th place: Zoe Carroll (Whakatane)

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• Pre-apprentice Night Hair
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o 1st place: Shiovann Edwards (Whakatane);
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o 3rd place: Meilani Glanville (Whakatane); and
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o 4th place: Carla Bindon (Rotorua)

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• Avant Garde
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o 3rd place: Kimberley Littlejohn (Rotorua)
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The winning Waiariki hairdressing tutor was Donna Dawson of Rotorua, who took third place in the Senior Urban Night Hair section.

Kymberley Paige, section manager of hairdressing at Waiariki, believes the industry is not always aware of how well Waiariki students are doing and said, “Waiariki needs to be on the map.

“We really pushed the students this year, we made the course a lot more intense to maintain students’ interest and encourage their creativity. This generation is full of fast learners.

“These awards gave students the chance to demonstrate their passion and progress in a way that recognized their hard work and dedication.”

—ENDS—

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