Students pamper residents at Derry Township senior facility with Valentine's Day makeovers

Marjorie Ahrens usually fixes her own hair in her room at the Barnes Place.

On Tuesday, to prepare for Valentine’s Day, she joined 21 other residents at the Derry Township senior living facility as they enjoyed a full makeover — and glamour photo shoot — courtesy of six cosmetology students from the nearby Eastern Westmoreland Career and Technology Center.

“It’s fantastic,” Ahrens said after Mia Will, a senior at Ligonier Valley High School, gussied her up with makeup and dark red lipstick and then Will’s classmate, Olivia Pescatore-Kubecki, added some mauve color to her hair.

“It seems like they do such a nice job, and they’ve got bright colors,” Ahrens said.

Ahrens said getting the makeover made her look good and feel good.

“That brush is really soft,” she said, as Will applied a combination of brown and pink hues to her eyelids.

The free makeover sessions allowed the Barnes Place residents to try some new looks while providing the students valuable practice in applying makeup and styling hair.

“Some people like more natural makeup, others like it more glamorous,” said Madysen Klimek, a senior at Greater Latrobe Senior High. “We base it off of what they want.”

After the beauty treatment was complete, the residents posed with red and pink flowers and heart props for glamour shots.

The technology center’s digital media students will return prints of the photos so the residents can share them with family and friends.

It’s the third year that the residents have posed for glamour photos, but it’s the first time they’ve been prepped with makeovers from the local students.

“It’s fun, instead of Valentine’s Day being sad because many of them don’t have a spouse,” Barnes Place activity director Jen Ezykowsky said. “This is the best year because they interacted with the students, as well. They have a really good connection with the students.”

Will and Bailey Legge, a Derry Area High School junior, got to learn about June Ashton as they respectively applied blush to the cheeks and curled the locks of the 102-year-old Army veteran.

“I was a sergeant in the motor pool,” Ashton said. “I was a little bit bossy, but not too bad. We had a lot of trucks and cars to take care of, and we had to make sure they were in good condition before they went out.”

The oldest of seven children, Ashton met her late husband in the Army.

“I was a hard worker right off the bat,” she said. “I’ve had a busy, wonderful life. I can’t complain at all.”

In addition to providing the pre-Valentine’s Day makeover, cosmetology students from the technology center have been coming weekly to offer the Barnes Place residents nail and hair sessions.

The students enjoy it as much as the residents, said Alexis Williams, cosmetology supervisor at the technology center.

“It’s real-world experience without the stress of being in a salon,” she said. “They love it. We’ll be continuing this for a long time.”