Since the end of Fall in 2024, the 1600 building has been through a massive amount of renovations. Though the effects of those renovations may vary, the excitement and enthusiasm towards them are shared. The renovations have been particularly exciting to the Cosmetology Department, due to their out of date classrooms.
Toni Seals, a faculty of the Cosmetology Department, explains the excitement, “Just seeing it and knowing that the modifications that are happening are going to be more aligned with current-day salons. Before everything looked like the 1960’s.”
In the original plans, the construction was originally expected to end in Fall 2026, but now the renovations are expected to be finished in the Summer of 2026.
The delay in the construction wasn’t unwelcome to the faculty and students, since they had gotten used to all of the changes they adopted in the year they’d been in the temporary space off campus.
Seals describes, “We actually were in the process of just unpacking. […] The equipment is really large and there’s a lot of tables and beds that we have to move. So we were like, ‘whew, we don’t want to leave in like a year.’ Just ’cause it means we have to pack up again and pick up all the stuff. So I think because of that, I was actually fine with it being a year and a half versus a year.”
In this delay, the faculty had the opportunity to actually design the new space.
“We were hands on the whole way through to figure out everything, from the paint on the wall to the floors that we’re using, the carpet that’s being laid, the tile on the bathroom, the type of stations… So everything that’s in there is our vision coming through,” explained Seals.
There have been pros and cons with the change in location and disconnection from campus, as their temporary location is off campus at 220 Campus Lane.
The ability to travel back and forth to campus for resources provided to students, such as free lunch and the campus bookstore, is hard to access.
Seals discusses the issue, “If they have to go to the bookstore now, they need a tool, or [if] they forgot their apron and they need to go buy a new one, that’s gonna take at least 15 to 20 minutes of their time. So that has been a challenge.”
On access to food, Seals said “There’s no access to food resources here. So there’s no vending machines, and we also don’t have any cafeteria. So the dean is very gracious enough to grab a couple things from Costco at the beginning of the semester, but we run out of that very quickly [with] 40 plus [students], then it’s another 16 [faculty]..”
Accommodations have been made for the students, such as hour-long lunches to ensure they have the time to access the resources on campus. Though this change has affected the time professors have to teach.
“That’s kind of cut into my curriculum time, or the professor’s curriculum time, because 30 minutes is a lot, you know? It doesn’t sound like it, but 30 minutes is a lot of time when you’re teaching.” says Seals
Electrical issues have also affected their curriculum time due to blown fuses on multiple occasions.
Seals says, “If you know anything about blow driers, it’s about 1,500 plus watts. And so you have 1,500 plus watts times 40? That’s a lot of electricity. So, what happens is we’re blowing fuses, and so we had to have the electrician come out a couple times to update the electrical.”
Despite the delays in constructions, and the problems at the new space, the Cosmetology Department is grateful. They continue to look forward to their department’s future and to seeing their designs and visions come to life in their new space.
“To me, it’s been a long time coming. … It is a big project, and we’re grateful for what we receive. But we were hands on the whole way through… so everything that’s in there is our vision coming through.” says Seals.
