Seeing how these students can express themselves is one of the most rewarding parts of what I do. You can see all the talent that these students have. They’re not just technicians; they’re artists.
Johnny Bell and Isaac Venancio-Reyes are aspiring artists.
Razors, clippers, scissors are their brushes, dye the pigments on their palettes. Their most recent canvas was the head of their friend and fellow Milwaukee Area Technical College student, Nathan Branski.
Bell and Venancio-Reyes, students in MATC’s Barber program, buzzed Branski’s hair and dyed it blond and brunette, in a wild safari pattern for “Edge of Elegance: A Beauty and Barber Showcase,” an end-of-the-semester event spotlighting the imagination, creativity, individuality and expertise of the college’s Cosmetology and Barber students.
On Tuesday, July 29, at MATC’s Downtown Milwaukee Campus, fellow students, friends, family, instructors and Dr. Anthony Cruz, MATC’s president, watched the program students and their models show off their hairstyles, makeup and nails.
See TV coverage of the event
CBS Channel 58
WISN Channel 12
“I’ve had my hair pink, long, short, almost bald,” said Branski, who is studying psychology at MATC. “I’ve had it every way you can think, so this doesn’t bother me. I think it looks great.”
“We’re into making art,” said Bell, who graduated from Bay View High School and started at MATC in January. “We’re inspired by artists. So we decided to try an abstract, artistic design.”
Graduating Cosmetology students used fantasy themes like Alice in Wonderland, Gatsby’s Mermaid, Medusa and princesses to showcase their work.
Continuing students re-created hairstyles from each decade of the past 100 years, including flapper curls from the 1920s, permanent waves of the 1950s and pin curls from the early 2000s.
“Seeing how these students can express themselves is one of the most rewarding parts of what I do,” said Traci Dorn, the MATC educational assistant who emceed the event. “You can see all the talent that these students have. They’re not just technicians; they’re artists.”
For the first time, Barber students, like Bell and Venancio-Reyes, participated in the show.
The two became close friends in the program and decided to collaborate on their hair design. “We were looking for something abstract, something with organic shapes, something that looked like graffiti,” Venancio-Reyes said.
Learn more about MATC’s Barber program
Three Barber students used their talents to pay tribute to former MATC student Sade Robinson, who was murdered in 2024.
“We just wanted to pay homage because we know that within our community, it’s a big thing that’s going on right now,” said student Andre Sullivan, who helped create a pink hairstyle in Sade’s honor.
The Cosmetology graduates will finish their classwork in the next few weeks and then be eligible to take the state board licensing examination.
Learn more about MATC’s Cosmetology program
The Barber students will earn their technical diplomas in December and then prepare to take the state licensure exam.
After that, both Bell and Venancio-Reyes said they want to start careers of cutting and creating.
“I’m just trying to build myself up with as many skills as I can,” Bell said. “I’d love to work for myself. I really want to be my own boss.”
Venancio-Reyes, who graduated from St. Francis High School last June, said, “Coming out of high school I really didn’t know what I wanted to do. But I did some research and decided MATC was the best place to go.”
About MATC: As Wisconsin’s largest technical college and one of the most diverse two-year institutions in the Midwest, Milwaukee Area Technical College is a key driver of southeastern Wisconsin’s economy and has provided innovative education in the region since 1912. More than 30,000 students per year attend the college’s four campuses and community-based sites or learn online. MATC offers affordable and accessible education and training opportunities that empower and transform lives in the community. The college offers more than 180 academic programs — many that prepare students for jobs immediately upon completion and others that provide transfer options leading to bachelor’s degrees with more than 40 four-year colleges and universities. Overwhelmingly, MATC graduates build careers and businesses in southeastern Wisconsin. The college is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.