Cosmetology Students Volunteer at Wig Boutique
Community service benefits cancer patients
Salons are woven into the fabric of communities everywhere, which is why students from the Cosmetology Program at Milliken Tech regularly donate their time at Sereen Studio X, a wig boutique in Islip that serves women experiencing hair loss due to cancer treatment.
Owner Nikeya Seeren Burnett, a Milliken Tech alumnus, is collaborating with the school’s Cosmetology Program to provide students with a community service opportunity where they learn to maintain and care for the wigs of cancer patients. Burnett not only provides wig options for her clients, but connects them to cancer-related, community-based resources, and offers guidance to determine if their wig purchases are covered by medical insurance.
Students are learning how to properly wash, dry, brush, and handle human hair and synthetic wigs and accessories. They will be at the salon throughout the school year to assist Burnett. Said Michelle Scala, Burnett’s former teacher at Milliken Tech, “This initiative is teaching our students so much. They have firsthand exposure to new skills and its impact on real people. It is a valuable lesson on more than one level.”
The Eastern Long Island Academy of Applied Technology, referred to as the Academy, is the Career and Technical Education Program of Eastern Suffolk BOCES and has locations in Bellport, Oakdale, and Riverhead. Milliken Tech is located on the Oakdale campus.