The Socorro Independent School District selects an outstanding student to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the monthly Board of Trustees regular meeting. Students chosen for this honor seize the endless opportunities SISD provides to help them excel in the classroom and beyond. Here is how one student is seizing his opportunities in Team SISD.
Socorro High School senior Omar De La Torre is a cut above the rest of the students in Socorro Independent School District’s barbering program.
Omar is on track to graduate in the top 10 percent of his senior class in June and is one of the program’s first two licensed barbers after passing the Texas Barber State Board exam in April. He also is part of the first cohort of 10 barber students to graduate from the program.
“It’s a great opportunity,” said Omar, who started working at Inn the Cutt Barbershop soon after passing his exam. “I know outside of this class, and outside of SISD, without this opportunity, I don’t know if I would’ve been a barber, to be honest.”
In recognition of his outstanding accomplishments, Omar was selected to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the SISD Board of Trustees regular meeting in May.
Socorro ISD is the first and only school district to have a barber school in West Texas, said Nancy Mestas, barber instructor at Legacy Barbershop at Socorro High School.
Opened in 2021, Legacy Barbershop is a state licensure program that prepares students to be work-ready for the barbering field. Students like Omar can graduate with a Class A barbering license and learn how to market their skills and create their own portfolios.
Omar, whose mom is a retired cosmetologist, applied to the new program during his sophomore year.
“I thought I’d give it a chance,” Omar recalled. “My mom cut hair, and my cousin has his barbershop. I thought maybe I’ll like it, so I signed up and got into the class. Ever since then, I found myself here, and I like it.”
Over the past two years, Omar has excelled in the 300-credit hour program sharpening his skills in cutting, braiding and perming hair. Students also learn to do fades, manicures, and facials.
Omar, the class's top barber, was the first student selected to take the barber state board written exam. With Mestas’ help, he studied for weeks for the written exam, which he passed on his first try. A couple of weeks later, Omar took the practical exam, which he passed after demonstrating his technique in facial shaving, haircutting, coloring, and more.
“I’m very proud of him!” Mestas said. “I’m very happy that he went in, he tried it and he passed.”
After posting about his success on social media, Omar said Inn the Cutt Barbershop contacted him. He has worked professionally as a fully-licensed barber at the shop since March offering a full range of barbering services from haircuts and fades to exploring his creative side with freestyle hair designs.
"I did like drawing a lot before I even knew I was going to get into cutting hair," Omar said. "But I never thought it would lead me to this. I was in art class all three years of middle school, and I liked it. But I never thought about putting it on hair. And now I enjoy freestyle design or coming up with something new."
Omar is slowly growing his clientele. He plans to attend El Paso Community College after high school and then enroll at the University of Texas at El Paso to study business management. His goal is to reopen his mother’s hair salon, which she closed a few years ago after she retired.
In the meantime, his plan is to gain experience and learn from the talented barbers he works with at the shop. He is also grateful to Ms. Mestas for being an excellent teacher.
"Ms. Mestas did a great job teaching us," Omar said. "I passed my (written and practical) test the first time; I have to give her credit there. She taught me well."
Published May 16, 2023
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