Jan Holland remembers it well. The Nacogdoches High School cosmetology teacher recalls Junny Garcia, then finishing up his freshman year at Nacogdoches High School, coming by to talk about entering Holland’s program… but for barbering, something NHS didn’t offer at the time.
“I told Junny I would help him become a barber as long as he promised to do everything asked of him,” said Holland. “And not one time did he question anything I had him do.”
That includes, Holland said, exercises with rollers, applying make up… anything. “He has a tremendous work ethic,” she said.
Really, aligning barbering with cosmetology – two similar but different paths – made sense; the first 700 hours of class time are roughly the same, said Holland, only diverging for the final 300 hours.
Now, six years after graduation, Garcia is back at Nacogdoches High School… and he will help launch the barbering program at his alma mater. Garcia’s addition to CTE staff at the high school will allow the award-winning cosmetology program at NHS to expand as well.
Junny Garcia, in 2019 while attending Nacogdoches High School.
“I wanted to try it out, and I ended up liking it,” Garcia said of his initial visit with Holland way back in 2016. A neighborhood barber had shared some of the ins and outs of the trade after Garcia showed some interest. “He would show me how to cut hair.”
Following graduation from NHS, Garcia worked fulltime at RR Donnelly, the commercial printer with a facility formerly located in Nacogdoches. Garcia also kept cutting hair on the side for friends and family, and when the printing facility closed, he went in fulltime with cutting hair, working at Milford’s Barber Shop in Nacogdoches.
“This is the last thing I thought would happen,” Garcia said Tuesday, the day before classes began for the 2025-26 academic year.
For years, Holland has been the sole cosmetology instructor at NHS, but state regulations limit how many students can be in the classroom at any given time. Beginning Wednesday with the first day of class, Garcia became responsible for 63 students taking the intro class to cosmetology and Barbering.
“When Mr. (Shawn) Lucena asked me about expanding into barbering, I knew exactly who we needed to get,” Holland said.
The Career and Technical Education program – which includes cosmetology – at NHS is rapidly expanding, and Garcia’s addition means more students in the classroom and lab (salon) for cosmetology and Barbering.
“We see the popular programs like cosmetology and culinary arts grow so fast,” said Lucena. “And we’ve had to add a second automotive instructor. These programs are rapidly expanding.”
The opportunity to earn dual credit hours through Lamar State College places even more importance on CTE courses at NHS. Beginning this fall, the CTE program will offer dual credit opportunities in 11 fields, laying the groundwork for students at Nacogdoches High School to accumulate college hours on the way towards graduation, said Lucena.
NHS and Lamar launched a similar program in 2023 in cosmetology, and in May, 14 students from Nacogdoches High School received their Cosmetology Operator Business Management Certificates.
Lamar State College – formerly an extension of Lamar University in nearby Beaumont – is affiliated with the Texas State University System and specializes in CTE classes and certifications, Lucena said
The agreement with Lamar State for CTE dual credit courses includes getting Nacogdoches High School faculty credentialed to teach the courses, meaning there’s no tuition fees for NHS students. Holland and Lucena hope to soon add barbering to the dual credit program.
“These opportunities are incredibly valuable for our students,” Lucena said. “We get them started with college credits, and by the time they graduate, they’ve got a great start on a degree.”