First year teaches Barbering students a foundation for success

Barbering was one of two first-year programs at the Center for Career Services in 2024-25

Every Thursday since December, students in the first-year Barbering program at the Center for Career Services have given live haircuts to students and staff. The real-life experience has taught them much more than just how to use a pair of scissors.

For example, instructor David Biviano has assigned students with jobs during these sessions. He left impressed one day when a student serving the role of shop manager noticed that a mistake had been made and jumped to action to resolve it. The correction not only required soothing the feelings of a client, but ensuring classroom protocols were properly followed going forward.

“That showed me that they are very conscious about what is going on,” said Biviano, a first-year teacher who has owned a barbershop in Ossining for nine years. “They are able to demonstrate what they are learning here in the classroom.”

Barbering was one of two new programs at CCS this school year, along with the Nursing Assistant program.

What Barbering students have learned so far are the foundational skills of a professional barber. They’ve been taught how to properly use scissors, clippers and trimmers, but also methods for proper sanitation and sterilization in a professional environment. They’ve studied the science behind Barbering, including how to identify skin disorders. They’ve also practiced strategies related to communicating with clients, including how to handle challenging situations that arise.

“I’ve learned how to manage and handle clients with different moods,” said Samuel Guzman, a senior from Sleepy Hollow. “People may come into your shop with different attitudes for whatever reason and you have to be able to deal with it properly.”

Those lessons have been taught both in the classroom through tests and quizzes and, importantly, by dealing directly with clients. Although those clients have primarily been classmates and faculty members, the interactions are valuable. The majority of Biviano’s students had never cut hair previously — and certainly not the hair of a stranger.

“The first time, it can be awkward,” said Guzman, the program’s only senior, who will serve an apprenticeship in Biviano’s shop to earn the remainder of the 500 hours mandated by New York State in order to receive a license. “But I have learned that if you can go with the flow and communicate well with your client, it puts them more at ease.”

The Barbering program has already seen a spike in interest. Due to spring enrollment, Biviano expects the program to more than double going into the 2025-26 school year. Those expanded classes will include second-year students working toward their barbering license and newcomers who must learn the trade from scratch.

So far, Biviano has seen plenty of potential in his students.

“I think they will go ahead and do great things in barber shops in the future,” he said.