A look of joy spread across the face of Hays High senior Vanessa Ramirez Friday when she finally straightened the knots out of the hair of a mannequin’s head.

Completing the task, as arduous as it was, took time and a little elbow grease. The effort was well worth it.

By finishing the assignment, Ramirez moved a step closer to earning her cosmetology certification offered by Hays CISD’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) program. It got her that much closer to her dream of possibly o...