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Two DeKalb Technical College Cosmetology students win top honors in the Bonner Brothers International Hair Show. The ethnic hair care trade show was held August 15 – 18 at the Georgia World Congress 
Center. Part of the weekend event was a Student Mannequin Competition. DeKalb Tech Cosmetology students Brandy Andrews and Marion McCall took second and third place respectively. Both students were overjoyed at winning the stiff competition. “To Place in a competition like this is a great honor,” says Arnold Taylor, Cosmetology Instructor at DeKalb Tech.
Both students bring home trophies to DeKalb Tech. The second place winner also brings $75.00 worth of hair care products to their home school. Third place brings $50.00 as a prize. The competition was open to any cosmetology student or apprentice world wide. 
Both DeKalb Tech students were a tad nervous heading into the competition. But their instructors played the role of supportive and encouraging coach. Frances Owens, DeKalb Tech Cosmetology Instructor has her own game plan for victory. “What you do is motivate them to go in, because sometimes they’re afraid,” says Owens. She adds, “I say you’re going to be a winner anyway. You’re a winner because you go in. Just jump out there and get your feet wet.” The stiff competition from other students around the world was a bit daunting for Brandy Andrews. “I got a little intimidated when I walked in there and saw the rest of them, but I thought I was doing okay.” Andrews 
says. Both students have been in training for this competition for years. Marion McCall began her hair-styling career long before enrolling at DeKalb Tech. She says, “I knew it was in me to do hair because I started doing hair when I was a little girl. I started doing my own hair when I was 7 or 8.” The Decatur resident isn’t taking all the credit. “I feel like I won it for the school, for all of us,” McCall says.
McCall and Andrews have dreams of one day owning their own hair styling salon. In the mannequin competition the competitors were asked to give their mannequins a “high-tech evening look”. While tensions were high during the show, so was confidence among DeKalb Tech instructors. “It’s a combination of training, but more than that, it’s a talent that the students have inside of them. So all we do as teachers is to help cultivate it and bring it out, because it is already there,” says Taylor. Dr. Robin Hoffman, President of DeKalb Technical College says, “Having two award-winning students in such a
competitive arena is testament to the quality and caliber of DeKalb Tech’s Cosmetology program.”
DeKalb Technical College, a unit of the Technical College System of Georgia, promotes a student-centered environment for lifelong learning and development, encompassing academic and technical education for employment in a global community. The college has 8 centers of learning in DeKalb, Newton, Rockdale, and Morgan counties. Established in 1961, DeKalb Technical College currently has more than 4,000 students enrolled in diploma or degree programs and more than 9,000 in adult education classes. Academic and Technical programs at DeKalb Tech cover more than 100 different occupations. For more information visit our website at www.dekalbtech.edu.
Photo 1: Marion McCall with trophy; Photo 2: Marion McCall & Arnold Taylor with $50.00 award check; Photo 3: Brandy Andrews working on mannequin; Photo 4: Cosmetology students
