Albany High School’s Cosmetology Program and its partnership with two universities are the subjects of a scholarly paper in an international journal!
Albany High cosmetology teacher LaQuita Love is featured in an article called, “Styling STEM: How African American Women Cosmetologists Can Help to Reimagine STEM Education” that was recently published in the International Journal of Gender, Science and Technology.
Love and her students worked with researchers from Michigan State University and RPI on a project designed to broaden participation of African American students in STEM – science, technology, engineering and math – and to acknowledge the role STEM plays in the beauty industry.
In spring 2017, Love, Michigan State Professor Michael Lachney and RPI Professor William Babbit co-taught an after-school program at Albany High called “Cornrow Curves,” which looked at the math behind cornrow hairstyles.
Later that year, Love co-taught a Science of Cosmetology class with Albany High science teacher Martha Bresonis. The course is now a popular science elective open to Albany High students. And in the summer 2018, Love helped facilitate a summer professional development program about the different science disciplines involved in cosmetology.
Love was interviewed about her role in these programs during the years that followed and was consulted during the writing of the paper.
