out there working iron and I was like.. What did I get myself into here? My name is Carmen Shehorn. I'm the career technical
educator for cosmetology at Valley State Prison For Men. When I tell people that I
work teaching cosmetology in a men's prison, a lot of people are shocked
by it, they're surprised.
They didn't even think
that it was available. This program takes approximately two years and they have to have 1600 hours completed in order to take the state board exam. There is a waiting list
to get into this class and in order to get into this
class, an inmate has to meet certain behavioral and
educational standards. You come into my class and
we're gonna treat each other with respect and common courtesy, and there's no boundaries in here.
- We're just gonna relax
your facial muscles, and improve your blood
flow throughout your face. My name is Juan Brizuela. I'm here at Valley State Prison
in Chowchilla California. My favorite part of the class
is the skin care part of it which includes the facials,
eyebrows and make up.
I like to see my clients relax
and get comfortable with me. It's real personal and being in prison, they teach you not to touch each other, not to touch staff. It goes against the norm of what people see about prison on TV, you know, ex-gang members, men with tattoos on their face, all over their body is not
something you see out there working in a beauty salon. It's putting a lot on a different side of the prison system.
- I do treat them as human beings. And I'm not here to punish them, I just here to show them
a skill that I have, and it happens to be in a prison. I have more empathy for people now, because of doing this type of work. When they get their license,
it's like I've gotten my license for the first
time all over again.
It's very rewarding..
