At Capital Region BOCES, educators want students to know anything is possible. For Guilderland High School student Shawna Clancy, that means a future in cosmetology.

“I always loved doing hair. I always did my mom’s hair as a kid and I always did my cousin’s hair all the time,” Clancy said. 

Now she has a new space to do it.

Clancy is a senior and one of about 1,000 students getting to study their different crafts at Capital Region BOCES’s newest building. Clancy said it’s an upgrade from the organization’s old classrooms.

“Half the time, the chairs didn’t even work. Like, I couldn’t even use my chair half the time, so I had to go around the room everywhere to use a whole different chair,” said Clancy.

Everything has been set up with teachers and students in mind. In cosmetology, that means the room is meant to look like a traditional hair salon.

“Now having a place that is a replica identically to what salon they may choose, or if they choose to build their own, it helps support their passion, their enthusiasm. For me, it’s just exciting to see them excited,” said Principal Shelette Pleat.

The same is true for students studying HVAC and refrigeration. They are in-demand jobs, and BOCES says a space like this gives students a leg up.

“Every single one of these students, if they want a job in this field, they will get a job. We have people knocking on our door every day to bring in workers who have the skills,” said Jeff Palmer, the director of career and technology.

The three-story, 167,000-square-foot facility opened in August. It houses about 20 different programs. Besides preparing a future workforce, students said the space helps them feel like they belong.

“They really show how different and specialized everyone can be, especially with all the different programs we have,” says Caleb Close, a Shenendehowa student.

The hope is to continue to grow and expand programming to offer anything students may need. The space will also be used to house some adult programming.

“We can offer anything the scholars can dream up of. Just give us the opportunity, and we have a plethora of industry partners who want to work with us,” says Pleat.