A pair of golden scissors marked a new beginning for aspiring hairstylists, nail technicians and skin care specialists in Graham County last week.
On Aug. 13, Eastern Arizona College cut the ribbon on its new cosmetology facility to about 200 guests, celebrating the completion of a 12,000-square-foot building that will give students a larger, more professional environment to prepare for careers in the beauty industry.
For Stacey Lunt, the program director and an instructor at EAC, seeing the finished building was the culmination of years of work.
“It turned out more beautiful than what I imagined,” Lunt said. “I saw it kind of progressively here and there, and then when it all came together it was just amazing.”
Lunt has worked as a cosmetologist for more than 20 years. She said she was disappointed when students were unable to continue attending classes at the program’s previous off-campus facility. Now, the new building is designed to address another long-standing challenge: demand.
According to EAC director Kris McBride, the cosmetology program has faced high enrollment demand for about a decade, with many prospective students placed on a waiting list. The previous facility had a capacity of about 70 students. EAC plans to eventually increase enrollment to as many as 150 students.
The first cohort in the new facility will include 90 students.
“For the first year, we're going to be very strategic in how we roll this out,” McBride said. “We want to make sure that we're offering our students the most consistent, high-quality services.”
The new facility includes skin and nail rooms, three demonstration classrooms, full-service hair salons and a break-room kitchen. The additional space is intended to give students hands-on experience as a trade school in an environment that more closely resembles the professional settings they will enter after graduation.
The project is part of EAC’s health and cosmetology department expansion. McBride said money saved through the college’s governing board helped fund the new cosmetology facility as well as a neighboring building that will become Copper Mountain Clinic, which the college says will be the first medical clinic in the town of Thatcher.
The new cosmetology facility will also serve people outside the classroom. As a summer pilot program, students allowed members of the community to receive haircuts at the new facility. Beginning Aug. 17, those services will continue throughout the 2026-27 academic year at discounted prices.
The goal is to balance community demand with the students’ education, according to Lunt.
“So we kind of want to make sure that we're able to maintain the education value and the quality that we kind of are known for, without going crazy just to get quantity and then slowly kind of increase as we go,” she said.
For students like Gracie Stearns, the new facility represents more than a place to learn. Stearns, who was born and raised in Safford, began cutting hair when she was 5 years old. She is now preparing to earn her cosmetology certificate through EAC’s one- to three-semester program, with plans to eventually open her own salon.
“It is truly a professional environment and will push us to step up our game every single day,” Stearns said. “We aren’t just playing with nails or hair, we are actively preparing for the future for our careers. More than anything, this new building gives us an incredible amount of confidence.”
The college plans to gradually expand the program as it establishes its first full year in the new facility. Lunt also hopes the community salon will complement—not compete with—existing salons and barbershops throughout Graham County.
“I don't think that it takes away from those businesses,” Lunt said. “There's always a clientele that caters to cosmetology schools in general. I think this just complements those businesses.”
For EAC, the new building represents an expansion of both the classroom and the college’s connection to the community.
“Our local salons actually appreciate the value that we're giving back to them,” Lunt said.
