The beauty of Buzz

Gary Moskowitz

Martha Busby received a surprise visit Thursday in her Glendale High

School classroom.

A graduate from 1999, Virginia Tumanyan, came by Busby’s busy

cosmetology classroom to utter the words that make a teacher’s face

light up -- “Thank you for everything you did for me.”

Busby has been teaching in the school’s cosmetology department

since 1973, and is retiring this year. Her father has cancer, and

Busby decided she needed more time to care for him. She officially

retires June 18, but will teach three weeks of summer school.

“This is like my second home, a home away from home,” said Busby,

59. “I think of my students as little pots, all cooking at different

speeds. This was one of those big decisions my family and I had to

discuss together. After I clean the garage and the house out, I’d

like to travel at some point, to Spain and to see more of this

country. Maybe I’ll be a substitute teacher here.”

Students who complete nearly 2,000 hours of salon work in Busby’s

classroom can earn licenses in cosmetology, manicuring and skin care,

accredited by The California State Board of Barbering and

Cosmetology.

Many of her students are high school graduates working on

obtaining their licenses so they can open their own salons. About 260

students are enrolled in the cosmetology program, with as many as 52

in the classroom at one time.

Busby frequently receives calls from former students. They often

tell her they do makeup and hairstyling for Hollywood movie stars.

Tumanyan, who started taking Busby’s class when she was 16, came

by to tell Busby she has a job working for Frederic Fekkai in Beverly

Hills on the weekends. Fekkai has been a stylist for actresses

including Rosario Dawson, Liv Tyler and Brooke Shields, according to

reports.

“[Busby] is like the whole essence of this place,” said Tumanyan,

22. “I can’t imagine what this place will be like without her. She’s

the best.”

Busby’s classroom operates like a real salon, with as many as 100

customers coming in each week for a shampoo and set, hair coloring,

perms and straighteners, waxing, manicures and scalp treatments,

among other things.

Beginning students practice on life-sized doll heads before

working on each other and, eventually, clients, once they’ve logged

enough hours.

The salon is a constant flutter of activity, with students

scurrying for rollers, blow dryers, creme developers, setting lotions

and towels. Students often refer to Busby as “Buzz” or “Miss Buzz.”

A shampoo is $1, and jobs like a hair-color correction can be $45.

All money raised at the salon goes toward classroom supplies, Busby

said.

Tujunga resident Marilyn Dhuet stops by the salon every week, a

visit she looks forward to because of the conversations she has with

the girls and Busby.

“We are like sisters now,” said Dhuet, 81. “They do such a nice

job, and the girls are lovely. Busby is like a dream. She makes it so

good here. It’s really a special thing. Whenever I walk in they all

say, ‘Hi, Marilyn,’ and that makes me feel so loved.”

School administrators plan to replace Busby with a full-time

teacher, but have not hired anyone. Busby’s colleague, Beatriz

Virsack, will continue to teach at the salon. For more information on

the salon at Glendale High, call 246-4984.