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As seen in the December 2007 issue of American Salon. Hair Color: Josh Rodriguez, Advanced 2 Phase, Aveda Institute St. Petersburg Hair Cut & Style: Amanda Lewis, Masters Studio, Aveda Institute St. Petersburg Makeup: Evelyn Perez, Intro Cosmetology, Aveda Institute St. Petersburg

Three students from the Aveda Institute in St. Petersburg have been crowned winners of the first ever Edwin Neill II Full Potential Award—an award created in honor of one of the most prestigious and well-respected names in the beauty industry.

The Edwin Neill II Full Potential Award was created to memorialize Edwin Neill II, CEO and founder of Neill Corporation (Hammond, La.), for young beauty professionals to compete as a team in demonstrating their developing creativity and inspiration in the areas of hair cut, hair color and makeup. More than 200 students from 23 Aveda Institutes took part in the contest, which was launched in 2006.

“My father was a wonderful mentor and made it his mission to nurture people in their growth,” says Edwin Neill III, president of Neill Corporation. “He was very committed to the development of professionals in the beauty industry and would be so proud to see all that these students have accomplished.”

Josh Rodriguez, Amanda Lewis and Evelyn Perez , who are students in the cosmetology program at the prestigious Aveda Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla., first competed separately in their specialty categories of “Hair Cut & Style,” “Hair Color” and “Face Color” (makeup.) After a winner was chosen from each category, the three competed as a team to create the winning look (shown overleaf) which was deemed best by the panel of judges including Virginia Meyer, vice president of education for Aveda Corporation.

The team had to submit before and after photography of their model, along with a brief essay describing why they chose Aveda, how they felt they would reach their full potential and what their environmental goal was. The entries were judged on six criteria: Creativity, Artistry, Difficulty, Presentation, Sanitation and Product Recommendation.

“Every day these students inspire us with their creativity, their hard work and their drive to become the best,” says Jim Petrillo, president of Aveda Institutes in Florida. “We are so proud that our team has won this award; but we’re equally proud that so many students were motivated to take part.”

The winning team will receive an all expenses-paid trip to attend Offspring-Miami Jam one of the industry’s most prestigious educational shows, featuring an unprecedented lineup of masters onstage including Antoinette Beenders, Ruth Roche and Tim Hartley.

“I can’t believe that we won—this is such an honor. I’ve learned so much throughout this process and I can’t wait to learn more!” says Amanda Lewis, one of the three winners, and student in the cosmetology program at the Aveda Institute in St. Petersburg.

Second and third place accolades were awarded to teams from the Aveda Institute in Tallahassee, Fla. and the Aveda Institute in Covington, La. respectively.

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