Congrats Beacon Winner Alanah Bowers!

Alanah Bowers is a recent cosmetology graduate from the Douglas J Institute in East Lansing, and she is also a 2018 Beacon Winner! Congrats, Alanah! What is Beacon? Why is this such a super cool accomplishment for Alanah? Want to see her gorgeous work that helped her win? We’ve got it all! Check it out! ⬇️

What is Beacon?

Beacon is a competition for beauty school students that is put on by the Professional Beauty Association (PBA). Schools from all over the nation have students enter the competition, making the competition hundreds strong. 100 winners are picked as well as 200 honorable mentions. This is a great opportunity for aspiring beauty professionals to network, create and demonstrate their abilities. The judges panel is made up of industry professionals such as salon owners and educators as well as PBA board members. After scoring is totaled between all judges, the winners are announced!

How Do You Enter?

In order to enter the Beacon competition, students must submit the following:

Three photos of work. Choose your favorite creations and put them in a portfolio!
A marketing piece. This piece should be a glance at your personal brand. An example of a marketing piece is a professional Instagram account.
A letter of recommendation. Choose someone well-spoken who can attest to your skills and professionalism but also your passion and love for the industry.
A resume. This should be a professional representation of yourself on paper. If you wouldn’t submit it for a job application, you shouldn’t submit it here.

The judges use a weighted scale to determine winners. The scale goes as follows:

40% resume and letter of recommendation.
20% portfolio images.
40% marketing piece.

Each judge brings with them their own unique perspective and opinion, but all entries are judged based off of the Beacon evaluation guidelines.

For tips and tricks to making your entry top-notch, visit the PBA website!

What Do You Win?

Winners from Beacon receive amazing opportunities! All winners are invited to attend PBA Beauty Week, a variety of classes and workshops during a weekend in July. These workshops are provided by seasoned industry pros in the exciting city of Las Vegas. This is a chance for students to meet other talented people in the industry, learn and expand their skill sets and just have fun!

After spending a weekend learning and networking, winners receive a ticket to the North American Hairstyling Awards (NAHA) hosted by PBA. NAHA is a competition for professional cosmetologists to show off their stuff. Beacon winners will get to attend the NAHA competition, see the lights and sounds and dream about their chance to take on NAHA themselves after licensure!

What Did Alanah Submit?

Alanah created three gorgeous photos! She was in charge of hair, makeup and the overall creative concept. She even got to work with her best friend, Erica (@ericacd_), who designed the wardrobe. Check out the portfolio pieces that had the judges swooning:

Why Did Alanah Compete?

In an interview with Alanah, we asked her why she chose to compete and she said, “I mostly [entered] because when you win, you win a trip to Vegas. There you get to attend all these classes and get to network with people. I think that’s a huge opportunity that doesn’t come around often. There are a lot of pros there that weekend and just to be able to go there and meet people and learn and expand my career is amazing. That’s why I wanted to do it!”

What Was the Competition Like?

“I was nervous and excited! Every time I do an art project or something like this it’s really exciting. During the photoshoot I was really excited, but waiting for the results was nerve wracking!”

We asked Alanah to share what her favorite part of the creation process was her favorite, “Being at the photoshoot. I found my models and photographer on IG, and my best friend designed and styled all their wardrobe. Just being there and seeing my vision come to life and being able to work on a set was amazing.”

Getting to Know Alanah

Alanah graduated from our East Lansing cosmetology program in May of 2018. While she has graduated from our campus, her electric presence will continue to be felt throughout our halls and classrooms. She is an incredible inspiration, especially for students who hope to be Beacon competitors in the future!

Alanah’s Goals

“Long term, I want to do editorial hair and makeup. I want to do magazine work and work at Fashion Week. That is what I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve done makeup in the past, so when I started the program I had that in mind more than anything else. Now I realize that I want to work in a salon and go through training and get some stuff on my resume before I take the leap to editorial.”

We love that Alanah has her sights aimed high, yet she has a solid plan to get her there! She clearly loves what she does and is excited to make a difference in the world! You can check out Alanah’s work and follow her journey on her Instagram account: @cherry.mooon.

Why Alanah Chose Douglas J Institute

We wanted to know more about why Alanah chose to start her journey into the world of beauty with us. We were happy to hear that she joined because of glowing recommendations!

“My parents had a salon when I was growing up and it was an Aveda salon, so I’ve always liked the Aveda products. The schools just have great reputation and people who have graduated have said good things.”

Alanah’s Advice

Think you’re a future Beacon competitor? Here’s some advice Alanah wanted to share:

“I think a lot of students don’t know about this opportunity at all but it’s important for them to know about it. There is a possibility to go out and do this! Work really hard on all four parts of your entry. Don’t just focus on your marketing piece or photos, focus on all aspects. Have fun with it!”

Are You Beacon Worthy?

Do you want to compete at Beacon? Are you inspired by Alanah’s story? You could have your chance to stand in the spotlight, but it all starts with an education! Contact Douglas J Institute to learn more about our cosmetology program! The future is waiting for you.

Shout Out!

Alanah wasn’t our only Beacon competitor or winner. Douglas J Institute is proud of all of our students who competed! You can see the full list of winners and honorable mentions down below!