Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/189657
Preparing students for A DYING INDUSTRY BY SHERRY POSNICK-GOODWIN When Jennifer Tarvis tells people what she is studying, they ask if she wears black every day. Or if she is a Goth. Or if she enjoys looking at blood and guts. Those who ask this kind of question are anxious about death, she explains. For years she was anxious, too. But now that she's surrounded by death her anxiety has vanished. to enter the quiet, clinical and grief-stricken realm of the funeral business as a student in Cypress College's Mortuary Science Department. The three-semester program, taught by Community College Association members, offers classes in funeral service management and directing; thanatology (grief ); ceremonies; anatomy, pathology and microbiology; embalming and restorative art. Helping family members make final arrangements for loved ones is important work, says Tarvis. So is making the dead look lifelike and peaceful, which she accomplishes through embalming and "restorative art" with makeup and hair color. "I want to make them look as good as possible. After all, it's the last time people will see them." Classmates share similar stories of friends and family expressing revulsion and say it's a conversation ender at parties. Martha Rosales says her future mother-in-law leaves the room when she talks about school. TA R V I S I S P R E PA R I N G Classmates Jennifer Tarvis and Martha Rosales praise their teachers for preparing them for their new careers. PHOTOGRAPHY BY SCOTT BUSCHMAN Educator 10 Oct 2013 v2.1 int.indd 29 OCTOBER 201 3 www.cta.org 29 10/7/13 9:38 PM