Eugene Rock

Professor

“In cosmetology you need to learn that a 50s look won’t work on a 90s woman.”

Eugene Rock—“Gino” to his friends—has been teaching at SMC since 1984. But his career in cosmetology began a good deal earlier. “I began cutting hair at home when I was 13,” he remembers. “I started out on my dad. Then I started making extra money cutting hair for the kids on my block.”

Eugene feels that most people don’t fully appreciate his field of work. “The biggest misconception is that it’s a simple job,” he says. “People don’t realize that it takes 1,600 hours of school. We study anatomy, physiology, the whole body.”

In his own practice Eugene has owned and run his own salon and beauty school. He feels his broad professional experience is a great benefit to him in the classroom. “I enjoy teaching and getting people fired up,” he says. “It’s great to see a student wide-eyed and hungry to learn.” And the thoroughly professional cosmetology department at SMC, he says, goes far beyond issues of beauty and fashion. “We teach the business side as well. We talk about how to buy a salon, setting up floorplans and how to buy and test new products.”

Eugene often attends the workshops of major salons to keep up with the latest trends. “I’m always upgrading my own skills,” he says. “My students actually motivate me.” And when a student’s enthusiasm strikes him, he often goes out of his way to help them find placement in their profession. “I can more or less pick the ones out who should be working for major salons,” he says. “Enthusiasm is always easy to spot.”

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