Local student places in national competition

WARDEN - Daniela Lino went to her first-ever national competition and came home with an eighth place award.

Lino, a junior at Warden High School, is a student in the cosmetology program through the skills center operated by the Moses Lake School District. "I really love it (styling hair). Haircuts and updos, it's like, it's my passion," she said. She honed her skills on her three sisters, and her aunts and cousins come around when they've got special occasions that need a special look.

So Lino was one of the contestants when Blades on Broadway, where some skills center students take their training, hosted the state competition for students in vocational cosmetology schools. Daniela won. In fact, Moses Lake skills center students took the top three places.

The win earned Lino a trip to a national competition sponsored by Skills USA, a youth leadership program.

Nationals drew participants from all 50 states, about 100 competitors total. "She (Daniela) was one of the youngest girls, and many of those students had competed before," said Bianca Jackson, a cadet instructor who went along as chaperone. Competitors were required to complete three different haircuts, including cutting long hair, a 90-degree (layered) cut and a man's haircut. The fourth requirement was an updo, where hair is styled high on the head.

Daniela said it was interesting and instructive to see how the competitors addressed the challenges, even in the case of something as seemingly simple as a man's haircut. "Everyone had their own different creativeness," she said.

The last requirement was the updo, usually a complicated process. "We were under pressure because we had, like, 40 minutes. I thought, 'whoa, I only have 40 minutes to do this.' And I did it."

"Daniela came up with her own design," Jackson said. She drew on her experience with her sisters, aunts and cousins, and her Hispanic heritage. "I was amazed by the sheer skill of it. It was incredible," Jackson said.

The top three places were announced in an assembly, and the rest posted the next day, including that eighth-place finish for Daniela Lino. "I couldn't believe it. I really couldn't believe it. I was like, 'You must have gotten the name wrong,'" she said.

Nevertheless her competition looks left something to be desired, in her opinion. "I know I could've done better," she said. She's already planning what she'll do if she qualifies next summer, she said.

Lino started the program in February 2011 and will complete the requirements before she graduates. After she completes the skills center course she will qualify to take the state cosmetology exam, she said.

But as much as she loves doing hair, that's not going to be her only career, she said. She plans to work her way through medical school and become a pediatrician.