EAST LOS ANGELES : Vocational Student Is at the Cutting Edge

Isabel Alferes surprised herself when she won the chance to represent California in a national cosmetology competition next month.

Not only did the 22-year-old student at the East L.A. Occupational Center have to prove her knowledge of various haircuts, tints and technical terms, she had to give a presentation on her trade and answer 25 questions from judges and instructors.

In the end, Alferes overcame the language barrier--she speaks only a smattering of English, and none of the test questions were in her native Spanish--and won the right to compete with two other East L.A. students in the Vocational Industrial Clubs of America national competition.

“I studied hard,” Alferes said in Spanish. “For me, speaking English is terrifying because I don’t know a lot of words yet. I haven’t learned it well. But I know what to do in cosmetology.”

Alferes and fellow students Jeffrey Trujillo and Geno Mariscal will travel to Louisville, Ky., in June for the competition. To get there, they won the regional competition at Cal State Los Angeles in March and medals in the state competition last month in Sacramento. Trujillo will represent his advertising design class project--a bulletin board display used in advertising--and Mariscal will compete in graphic communications.

“This school has sent people to the national (competition) for the past four years,” said industrial coordinator Ben Avila. “The difference is, we normally would send eight students to the state competition; this year we sent 18. They generally send one student to the nationals and this year we have three.”

Trujillo, 23, who won a silver medal for his design of a bulletin board, will go to the nationals in place of a student who won the gold medal but fears flying. Nevertheless, Trujillo said, the recognition from the competition has given him more job opportunities. One of the jobs he received as a result of the state competition is the redesign of a poster advertisement for a barbershop.

“It adds credibility,” he said. “They estimate that 6,000 VICA members will be (at the nationals) this year, so the competition will be tough.”

VICA, based in Leesburg, Va., is a professional organization that promotes development and leadership among vocational students, Avila said.

Alferes still has 600 hours to go before completing the 1,600 hours required to graduate from the occupational center. She is also completing requirements for her high school diploma.

“We prepare for the job in the classes, but for me, this (competition) gives me the chance to spend more time than what we do in class,” she said. “This makes me more ready for a career.”