What Orientation Day Looks Like at Aveda Institute New Mexico

Orientation for our September cohorts is tomorrow, September 9. If you are starting with us, or thinking about an October or December start and wondering what the first day is actually like, here is what happens.

• Orientation is the day you stop being an applicant and start being a student artist
• You will meet your cohort, meet your educators, and walk the building
• You leave with your schedule, your expectations and your questions answered, before any coursework begins

You Meet the People First

Orientation opens with introductions, and that is not filler.

You meet the educators who will be teaching you and the cohort you will move through the entire program with. Most people arrive a little nervous and leave having learned four or five names and found at least one person they click with. Given how much of this work happens shoulder to shoulder at a station, that first hour does real work.

You Walk the Building

We take you through the whole institute, not just the classroom.

You see the classrooms, the salon floor where you will eventually take guests, the dispensary, and where everything lives. Knowing where things are sounds small until your first day, when not knowing is the thing that makes people feel anxious before they have even started. We want to help you get familiar with the environment.

You Get the Practical Details

This is where the logistics get handled so they never become a problem later.

Your schedule, attendance expectations, the professional standards we hold, how hours are tracked and recorded, and what kit day involves. You will hear how progress is measured through the program, so the milestones ahead are familiar rather than a surprise. Any remaining financial aid questions get sorted here as well, with a person, not a form.

You Ask the Real Questions

Orientation is the best question-and-answer session you will get, because everyone in the room has the same ones.

How much practice happens outside class hours. What the first month feels like. When you get on the salon floor. Whether people work while enrolled and how they manage it. We would rather answer all of that on day one than have wondering for the first month.

What Comes Next

After orientation comes kit day, and then your first day of class.

For our September cohorts, esthiology starts September 16 and Thursday through Saturday cosmetology starts September 24. Kit day follows shortly after each start. By then, the building is familiar, you know your educators by name, and the only new thing is the work itself, which is the part you came for.

If you are considering an October or December start and want to see the place before you decide, call 505.294.5333 or visit avedanm.com to book a tour.