LaGuardia Community College flipped the “closed” sign on its Barbershop Series last Thursday, culminating the program with an inspirational presentation by Marquee Poole, one of the college’s athletics coaches.
Much like a neighborhood barbershop, the series is aimed at engaging students at the college — especially young Black men — in a safe setting in which they can express their thoughts, feelings and concerns while receiving free haircuts from Jorge Perez, a professional barber and professor at the college in Long Island City.
The program is hosted by LaGuardia’s Black Male Empowerment Cooperative, which is funded by City University of New York’s Black Male Initiative, intending to improve graduation rates and student retention for students of color.
“My focus and my drive is to make our culture great by giving them the tools they need,” Poole said to students at the end of Thursday’s program. “How? By giving them the tools they need. Hard work, tears, fear and weakness turned into strength, confidence, perseverance, trust and a brotherhood of people that have the same mindset.”
Rachel Romain, the student life manager of the college’s BMEC program, launched the Barbershop Series last October after newly appointed dean Kevin J. Martin asked her to help with outreach to Black male students.
Students meet every two weeks in a classroom in the college’s M-Building for a one-hour presentation by a LaGuardia faculty member, including professors, coaches and leaders in the CUNY Fatherhood Academy.
While the BMEC program has had many iterations, Romain explained, this series was meant to reflect the atmosphere of a barbershop, which is often seen as a hub in Black communities.
“You’re having a conversation about anything and everything under the sun and sharing with each other,” she said. “It’s really important.”
The Barbershop Series has seen an increase in student engagement at the BMEC program since its introduction, Romain continued, and has fostered conversations about leadership, personal responsibility, future plans and even financial advice.
“It’s been amazing to see how students are connected to what we’re doing,” she said. “Every time we get new students. They’re making friends because they wouldn’t necessarily cross paths with them otherwise.”
Poole said the reason why this series was so successful was because of its purposeful reflection of barbershop culture.
“It’s an open area where people have an array of conversations — you know, just casual talk,” he said. “In a barbershop, they talk about politics, sports, relationships and all different things in the community.”
By providing an in-person setting where students can sit together, grab food and hear advice, the series helps bridge a gap in their college experience and give them the tools they need to be successful.
This program is particularly important for students in a two-year college like LaGuardia, Poole explained, because many of them are in transitional periods in their lives and trying to figure out what their next steps are, whether it be pursuing a four-year degree or setting career goals.
“Actually seeing someone who sat in the chair they’re sitting in I think is significant,” Poole said. “I think it’s inspirational for them to stay encouraged and decide if they want that four-year degree.”
Poole shared many of his own experiences with the students who attended last Thursday’s session, reflecting on his own choices and how he navigated the many trials and tribulations of his personal life while building a future of his own.
“To have a professional that may have been in their situation and build their brotherhood network from this program goes a long way,” he emphasized.
Jonathan Clauzel, a student at LaGuardia, said he enjoyed the series because it provided him with a sense of community.
“LaGuardia just feels like home,” he said. “It just feels like a place where I belong.”
The barbershop is a place where people from all over the neighborhood come together, Clauzel explained, meaning he could cross paths with people from many different walks of life.
Clauzel, a first-generation Panamanian American, recalled his own fond memories of going to the barbershop that welcomed patrons of all ethnicities, including Hispanics, African Americans and Afro-Latinos.
“It was a fun place,” he said. “We just met people that were like-minded folks. It felt like a bond.”
By attending the Barbershop Series at LaGuardia, Clauzel continued, he was able to recreate some of that experience and better learn how to navigate the world. He said many students who came to the sessions had no idea where they’d be in 5-10 years, but learned something they might have been missing in their lives.
Brandon Parker, another LaGuardia student, said he attended the Barbershop Series a few times since its launch last semester because it helps him stay involved in the school community, as well as connect with fellow students in an open forum.
Not all sessions are like the one led by Poole, Parker explained, recalling another session a few weeks ago that discussed connections between love and leadership.
Parker, who grew up in Brooklyn, said barbershops have always been a meeting place for men of all ages to boost their confidence, whether through a good haircut or deep conversations with each other.
“It’s kind of like a form of therapy,” he explained. “If you’ve got something going on, there’s a little one-on-one session you have with your barber. You also hear other conversations and then you start to take part in them until kind of this whole mix of people are speaking about different things.”
Parker said he felt the Barbershop Series recreated this atmosphere, giving him a sense of purpose and a place where he can network with his fellow peers and series presenters.
His interest in learning what other men at the college are dealing with at any given time, Parker said, helps him put his own problems in perspective and learn how to approach them better.
Having spaces like the one provided through LaGuardia, he continued, is important not only for the men at the college, but for any student who wants or needs life advice.
“It gives you an opportunity to come down and have a good conversation, as well as look good,” he said. “It can boost your morale. Having a space like this, whether in a barbershop setting or just an open discussion, is very important.”
For more information about LaGuardia’s upcoming BMEC series, visit LaGuardia.edu.
