Wendy McIntosh holds a curling iron steady as she waits to move to the next lock of Elsy Alemam’s long brown hair.
Inside a portable at Federal Way High School on Saturday afternoon, amidst a scent of vanilla hairspray and fingernail polish, other volunteers paint fingernails, apply blush and lipstick as they share prom memories with Alemam and other senior girls.
Four Federal Way High School girls were treated to an afternoon of pampering before their prom later that evening.
The afternoon was made possible, thanks to Communities In Schools outreach coordinator Kaitlin Thomas, who partnered with Federal Way High School teacher Juliana Martin and members of Grace Church.
Last year, Thomas and others helped two girls do their hair and make-up. And for the past two years, they painted girls’ nails before the school’s homecoming dance.
“To me, it’s the little things that I get to help out with — it’s empowering for [the students] and these are those memorable moments you can look back on and smile,” Thomas said, adding that she hopes the event continues to “keep rolling and we get more girls each year.”
Shelby Ott, a hairstylist and make-up artist for The Refinery Style Bar in Tacoma, curled senior Jazmine Tivvets’s hair during the event. Ott heard about the event through her church. Grace Church member Jessica Montessi was also on hand during the event to help with make-up.
“I said, ‘of course, this is one of my favorite things to do, so I was very interested,” Ott recalled.
Tivvet selected purple fingernail polish to match her lavender prom gown, as Grace Church member Dayna Farlow applied the polish. Once she gave her nails enough time to dry, Tivvet ate strawberries and grapes that the volunteers provided, keeping her fingers straight so she wouldn’t ruin her polish.
“It’s very exciting,” Tivvet said of the opportunity to get pampered.
Shelby Ott curls senior Jazmine Tivvets’s hair. CARRIE RODRIGUEZ, the Mirror
Federal Way High School teacher Juliana Martin (left) and Communities in Schools outreach coordinator Kaitlin Thomas. CARRIE RODRIGUEZ, the Mirror
