Student Contest

Enter to Win the Intercoiffure America Canada Student Contest:
Win a Trip to New York City, September 29 & 30

Beauty School Students –
The theme for this year’s Intercoiffure America Canada (ICA) Student Contest is sustainability! We’ll be working with the Green Beauty Community, and we want to see your creativity and passion for eco-friendly hairstyling.

SUBMIT YOUR VIDEO BY JULY 26

Modeled on the well-known Intercoiffure America Canada (ICA) Nouveau program—which recognizes outstanding looks created by stylists in the first five years of their career—the ICA Student program recognizes outstanding beauty school students and their instructors.

All finalists’ entries will be shared onscreen at the ICA Fall Atelier and featured on the ICA and Pivot Point websites, and the top student honoree and their instructor will both be brought to New York City (all expenses paid) and honored onstage at the ICA Fall Atelier (September 29-30)!

What can you win?

All our finalists and their instructors will have their work showcased online and at the ICA Fall Atelier!
Our top student honoree and their instructor will win a fabulous, all-expenses-paid trip to New York City to attend and be recognized onstage at the ICA Fall Atelier on September 29th and 30th!

How do you enter? (It’s free!)

Submit your entry video. Students create a short video (under 30 seconds) on their phones explaining what sustainability means to them as hairstylists. There are no wrong answers.

Submit your video by July 26:

Online
Download PDF to share

What are the rules?

Your 30 second video has to be submitted by July 26.
Intercoiffure Student Contest finalists will be chosen based on their submitted videos.
Each finalist will choose a beauty school instructor to work with.
We’ll provide each finalist with a Pivot Point eco-friendly Cap Series mannequin, detailed contest guidelines, and directions how to submit their sustainability-inspired look.
You must be a student at an accredited beauty school when you enter. Students may have graduated by the ICA Fall Atelier date.
All work submitted must be the sole work of the student, with instructor supervision. The finalist entry must include both the student and the instructor name.
Looks can be created using any combination of cut, color (including spray colors), and styling.
Mannequin makeup is optional.
Hair fillers are not allowed.

Judging

Intercoiffure Student Contest Judges:
- Perry Monge – Chairperson, Intercoiffure Nouveau
- Anna Pacitto – Artistic Director, Intercoiffure
- Jason Russell – Product Experience Senior Manager, Pivot Point
- Hannah Craik – Co-founder, Green Beauty Community

Mannequin entries will be judged on both skills and creativity.
All judge’s decisions are final

Finalist Guidelines

Students will be required to submit six photos of their design:
- Four different mannequin shots (one front, one back, one left side, one right side)
- Two different group shots including the student, their instructor, and their finished mannequin (the first showing the intact mannequin, the second showing the mannequin with the cap removed from the headform)
By submitting their entry, the student and their instructor attest that the student was the only person to work on this mannequin and that all work was done at the school under the instructor’s supervision
All work is accepted in good faith. Disqualification will apply to any person(s) abusing contest rules
Submitted videos and images become the property of ICA and their contest partners. ICA and their contest partners reserve the right to use the entrants’ names and images for publicity purposes as seen fit
All dates are subject to change

Students, ready to show off your sustainable style? Enter today!

*None of these photos are of actual hair or models, AI generated them all in less than a minute! What will your imagination create?

See last year's winner

Download PDF to Share

President and CEO
Southern Security Federal Credit Union

Dawn Graeter, President and CEO of Southern Security Federal Credit Union is an extremely accomplished, trailblazing finance executive who has led Southern Security to triple-digit growth since she took the helm in 2011. As one of the few female bank CEOs in the Greater Memphis area, Dawn has over 35 years in the finance and banking industry and has held almost every position there is as she worked her way from teller to CEO.

Dawn’s focus on the foundational pillars of people, community, and technology have ignited record-breaking results year after year and includes specific efforts for teamwork-building, employee relations, a genuine grassroots community outreach effort, and adopting technology solutions to provide greater functionality and service to customers. These efforts have increased the Southern Security full-time workforce by 37 percent and increased the annual net income of Southern Security by 127 percent poising Southern Security for even greater growth in the future. Dawn’s successes have not gone unnoticed as she was voted one of Power Poll Memphis’ Most Power People in 2023 and named a Superwoman in Business by the Memphis Business Journal in 2012. Also, named University of Memphis Outstanding Alumna in 2019. Dawn and her team are proud that Southern Security has been named Best Credit Union by the readers of the Commercial Appeal for six years running.

Dawn works tirelessly to support professional and community organizations close to the industry and community she loves. She currently serves as Chairman of the Board for Confluent Strategies, which specializes in consumer credit, commercial and mortgage credit reporting, background checks, employment screenings and association management. She also serves on the board for the Tennessee Credit Union League whose mission is to promote and support the success and advancement of credit unions in the State of Tennessee. Dawn correspondingly serves on the board for Share One which serves credit unions across the country with a comprehensive core processing system named New Solutions. As a credit union service organization (CUSO), Share One designed New Solutions directly alongside credit union clients.

Recently, Dawn was asked to serve on the Le Bonheur National Leadership Council, on the Youth Program’s Inc. Captain’s Club, charitable foundation and host organization of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, and the Board of Carnival Memphis, all benefiting local children and children’s charities.

Dawn previously served as chairman of the board for HopeWorks, an organization that offers jobs and support to the under-resourced and recently incarcerated working in conjunction with the Shelby County Department of Corrections Hope 2 Hire program. Her work with HopeWorks is what she is most proud of, helping train adults for vocational careers and life outside of the Department of Corrections system. Dawn has a real drive to help adults help themselves, to be able to provide for their families, and find a skill or career they are proud of every day.

Dawn has served on various nonprofit boards over the years including Leadership Millington, Millington Area Chamber of Commerce and the Mid-South American Heart Association’s Executive Leadership Team. Dawn also served at the Greenshoe Gala, benefitting Shelby Farms.

Dawn gives back to her alma matter, the University of Memphis as she is serving as an Executive in Residence for the Fogelman College of Business and Economics, on the 901 Women’s Athletic Advisory Board, has served as a member of the University of Memphis Alumni Association from 2000-2003, serving as treasurer from 2002-2003. She continued her service as the University of Memphis Alumni Association President from 2004-2005 while also being a member of the Board of Visitors for the U of M. Dawn was a participant in the U of M Women’s Leadership Council and was chairman for Homecoming Golf Classic for the Alumni Association.

Southern Security Federal Credit Union and its employees support Mid-South Employee Resource Network, Big Brothers Big Sister of the Mid-South, Youth Villages, Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, YWCA, American Heart Association, Keesha Warrior Princess, Collierville Education Foundation and many other local charities through monetary donations and volunteer efforts.