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Some statistics on how Buena Park housing looks compared to the rest of the nation in Zillow’s eyes.

The online housing tracker’s national databases can help add some perspective to the high price of local living.

As of November, for example, Orange County real estate by Zillow’s math — the No. 5 nationally in housing market size — has a median home value of $696,200, 13th highest in the 1,700-plus U.S. counties tracked. That’s after surging 44.7 percent in the last five years, the 212th ranked gain nationally.

Here’s how Zillow sees home values in Buena Park as of November compared to some 13,000-plus other U.S. cities …

Market size: No. 418 nationally, or in the top 4 percent.

Price: $564,700 — that’s No. 703 nationally or in the top 6 percent.

5-year gain: 53.2 percent — that’s No. 1,458 or in the top 12 percent.

10-year gain: 5.0 percent — that’s No. 5,645 or in the top 49 percent.

PS: All-time high value? $583,600 in February 2007.

DID YOU SEE …

Southern California population grows at fastest pace since 2014

Southern California housing takes nation’s largest bite of local paychecks

Southern California homes overvalued? Appraisers suggest yes

What bums out employees at Orange County’s top workplaces

DAVIS — Gabe Levin led Long Beach State with 18 points, but first-half foul trouble and a career night from UC Davis junior Siler Schneider helped the host Aggies defeat the 49ers 84-75 in a key Big West Conference game Wednesday night.

Schneider scored a career-high 29 points to go with six assists and former Tustin High standout TJ Shorts II added 17 points for the Aggies (12-6, 3-1).

Schneider had a traditional three-point play and a 3-pointer, A.J. John made a 3-pointer and a layup and the Aggies were up 33-29. Schneider added another 3-pointer and Shorts scored UC Davis’ last six points of the half for a 42-37 lead. The two teams combined for 30-of-59 shooting (51 percent) and UC Davis was 7 for 11 from 3-point range.

UC Davis extended the lead after the break on layups from John, Chima Moneke and a pair from Schneider for a 52-41 lead. Levin made a couple of layups to trim the 49ers’ deficit to four with 12:24 left, but Schneider countered with a 3-pointer and a jumper and Long Beach State (9-12, 3-2) never got closer than seven the rest of the way.

Edon Maxhuni added 10 points for the 49ers, and Temidayo Yussuf grabbed 14 rebounds – one off his career high. Mason Riggins added seven points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots for Long Beach.

The 49ers outrebounded the Aggies 41-28 and held standout Chima Moneke to six points and seven rebounds, but Schneider proved to be the difference.

Deishuan Booker scored seven early points to help give Long Beach State an 11-8 lead through seven minutes, but the junior was the first of three 49ers with first-half foul trouble. Long Beach led 23-20 with just under nine minutes left in the first half, before second fouls from Yussuf and Levin forced Coach Dan Monson to go to his bench, setting up UC Davis for its strong finish to the first half.

Long Beach next hosts Cal State Fullerton (11-6, 4-1) on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid. Fullerton suffered its first conference loss on Wednesday, falling at UC Santa Barbara (13-5, 2-2).

Typically in this world, the old teach the young.

The veterans train the novices.

Jedi masters instruct padawans.

But the CSUF Consulting program turns that on its head.

Semester-long projects allow Cal State Fullerton students to apply their classroom lessons to real-life situations while providing free or low-cost consulting to businesses in the community.

While students attend lectures and complete homework, they also meet with their clients to lay out goals, brainstorm with teammates to craft solutions and rehearse an end-of-semester presentation that will count toward their grade and, when things go right, satisfy their clients’ needs.

In the process, the students might interview customers or potential customers, research competitor strategies and visit the work site to get a feel for the company’s culture.

Students are kept on track by their professor and volunteer mentors who are professionals in their fields. They might point out a hole in the team’s research or nudge the team’s thinking in a new direction. But by and large the work is the students’ own.

“Why would someone who has been a business owner for 30 years rely on the things that a bunch of undergrads are telling her?” posed associate professor Atul Teckchandani to one such class, Management 464: Entrepreneurial Leadership, during fall semester. “If the recommendations are credible, then she will.” Credibility comes from thorough research, he said.

Teckchandani taught his students concepts including design thinking, which uses such tools as empathy to solve problems, and root cause analysis, which champions moving beyond the surface of a problem. He introduced case studies from such companies as NUMMI, Zappos and Nordstrom in discussing the components of a company’s culture.

“When Nordstrom says ‘Use your judgment,’ that’s their culture,” he said.

The class divided into teams at the first class meeting, choosing among clients that had contacted the program for help or, in some cases, been recruited by the students.

Student teams did consulting for coffee chains, a pizza restaurant, a music collective and a home health care business.

Two teams worked on similar client challenges: how to attract more millennials into the business. One was a hair salon, the other an insurance office.

Pulling in millennial hair stylists

For more than 30 years, Barbara Nolasco, owner of Artistic Hair, a salon in Orange, has hired graduates fresh out of cosmetology school and put them through training in styling and client management. But in recent years, more trainees have dropped out, resistant to work 40 hours a week, put in the work to build a client base and learn new skills.

Problem

“As I worked with younger and younger hairdressers, my systems didn’t seem to be as effective,” Nolasco said.

“The one thing I admired about millennials is they have figured out a way to make work not their main priority. I think that’s admirable,” she said. But the flip side is they aren’t as “hungry” as previous generations, since they are staying single longer and often still living with parents. In her salon, that translates into new stylists not building a clientele as quickly as previous stylists, which means they don’t pay full rent as soon – taking up to two years as opposed to six months previously.

Nolasco also was frustrated they didn’t like being told what to do.

“How do I go about teaching them something without sounding like I’m telling them what to do?”

Nolasco didn’t have to go far to find help. Amanda Martinez, a student in Management 464, has been a stylist at the salon for more than eight years. She went back to college to obtain the skills and education needed to open her own salon one day.

“In completing various consulting projects, I have made many contacts, and learned more than I expected I would,” Martinez said. “I’m so grateful to attend a university where I can learn firsthand about the industry I want to grow professionally in.  Also, my network is growing, which, I’m realizing more and more, is so important.”

Martinez recruited her boss as a client for her class and – with team members Helen Gip, Madison Davidson, Saipele Sala, Carrie Clark and Alex Noble – set about to analyze the source of the problem and suggest solutions.

To understand the dynamics of attracting millennials and better retaining clients, the team distributed surveys on Facebook, receiving 102 anonymous replies. Surveys asked people what they want when they visit a hair salon and asked stylists how they retain clients.

The team also interviewed hairstylists and salon owners and walked into beauty schools to observe the learning environment and meet students to learn what they expect after graduation.

To help assess the salon’s strengths and weaknesses in recruiting stylists, the team used an approach to problem solving called a congruence model, which they had learned in class. The model is used by managers and consulting firms to improve the fit (or congruence) among four organizational building blocks: critical tasks, people, formal organization and informal culture.

For example, the team kept in mind Nolasco’s preference to hire newly graduated stylists, rather than established stylists with their own clientele, to preserve the salon’s longtime culture.

Findings

“We concluded that Artistic Hair Salon undergoes problems with their current training program because it does not fit the needs and desires that millennial stylists are comfortable with,” the team said in its report.

Artistic Hair’s training program, which hadn’t changed in 30 years, required new hires to work the front desk while assisting stylists by shampooing, mixing color and cleaning up. But the team’s findings showed that millennials want more hands-on experience sooner. They also respond well to training programs with clearly defined levels.

“These days, your assistants don’t want to be your assistant for very long.  They want to get on the floor right away,” one stylist who has managed three salons told the team.

Millennials also need to work on people skills, one salon owner told the team.

The students also sought suggestions to help Artistic Hair retain clients more effectively. Typically, the salon’s stylists send out thank-you notes to clients, but that tactic was called outdated by survey respondents, who text instead. Other salons also use discounts for client referral and take advantage of social media to introduce new products or incentive offers.

Clients surveyed also mentioned the importance of such extras as a glass of wine or a shoulder massage on top of a great haircut and personal attention.

The students also discovered the salon was using an outdated software program to manage client relationships. Instead, the team researched two cloud-based programs, including Vagaro, which allows clients to book appointments online and lets the salon send out reminder texts and emails, which cut down on no-shows.

Recommendations

To hire and train millennial stylists:

1.            Clearly define a minimum of three levels of training that a trainee must complete before receiving his or her own chair – moving from receptionist to color formulation to shadow assistant – all involving hands-in-hair training.

2.            Give trainees hands-on training instead of cleaning duties whenever possible.

3.            Utilize Artistic Hair’s master stylists in the teaching of trainees in exchange for one week of discounted rent.

To better retain clients:

1.      Implement a follow-up procedure with clients.

2.      Implement a referral program to reward clients who refer a friend.

3.      Pamper clients: serve free wine, offer head massages.

4.      Upgrade salon management software to Vagaro, the less expensive of the two programs.

Aftermath

“I was so pleased with the suggestions they came up with, and I plan on implementing them in the timeline they suggested,” Nolasco said.  “The most important thing I came away with is that my training program must reflect the importance of giving a millennial stylist more hands-on training.” Also, a thorough training in giving a great consultation will help with retaining clients, she said.

After the team’s presentation, Nolasco contacted Vagaro, which will save the salon more than $70 per month, according to Martinez.

“I am so grateful to have been chosen for this project, and I would highly recommend it to any business,” Nolasco said. “Having the team help me to look at the areas that needed improvement will put my salon ahead of the game.”

The salon also gained a new assistant as a result of the consulting project, she said. Team mentor Bob Pierson had provided a contact at a local beauty school, where Martinez was in turn connected with a former student, who went to work at Artistic Hair.

“This is definitely a bonus of the consulting project,” Martinez said. “I love connecting people, and I never could have imagined Cal State Fullerton would help me do that, but I’m so thankful it did.”

Recruiting future insurance agents

Millennials were also an appealing target for an Orange County insurance office that solicited the advice of the Management 464 class. The office was looking to hire recent college graduates to enter a training program that would allow them to one day to own their own insurance agency.

This team encountered some challenges, however, and in the end learned that consultants, like doctors, sometimes have to deliver less-than-wonderful news.

“Having an independent third party confirm a fact that may be unpopular is still of value,” said Derreck Ford, president of JETEC Corp. in Costa Mesa and one of the class mentors, during a critique of the team’s presentation. “This is such a great experience for you guys. It’s very hard to be a consultant and not rah-rah them. Tell the truth.”

Problem

The team – Branden Wells, Alan Cerna, Richard Lazo and Jeremy Wan – conducted interviews, surveys and online research to understand the office’s challenge. Its online research turned up six characteristics especially valued by millennials (those born between 1981 and 1998): social welfare, leadership, team orientation, instant recognition in the workplace, self-sustainability and work-life balance.

The insurance office was successfully delivering on two of those, team orientation and life-work balance, the students determined.

“Millennials like to work where they are not only there to make money but to give back to the community,” the team said during its presentation.

Findings

In 25 interviews with younger millennials, only one expressed interest in being an insurance agent, and he was the son of a couple who own an agency and expect him to take it over when they retire. A few others were planning to pursue underwriting or actuarial work, but most had no knowledge of the industry and/or had a perception it is boring. Surveys turned up one interested person out of 29, who wanted to be more highly compensated and have a shorter training program.

Another discouragement to younger millennials is the $250,000 cash and working spouse required to launch an agency. “That’s one reason the young millennials bounce out. They just don’t have the capital,” the team said.

The team ran across a 2015 study by The Hartford insurance company that found older millennials, those 26 and up, were more likely to want to lead in business within five years than younger millennials. The team posited they might also be more successful insurance agents, since they would have more industry experience and more built-up capital.

Recommendations

That’s what the team pitched to the insurance office’s owner and manager, who declined to be identified for this article. The team recommended that the office’s recruiting ads stress the service agents provide to the community by supporting local homeowners and businesses – playing to the social aspect millennials desire.

The team also recommended a much shorter training program – 17 weeks vs. the three to five years previously required.

But the team members were frustrated that the millennials the office hoped to target were so uninterested, even when it’s pointed out that one upside of owning an insurance agency is a high earning potential.

“She is looking for someone who wants to make millions. And we’re afraid that doesn’t really exist,” Wells said of the agency’s owner, who wanted recruits who are “hungry.” Millennials tend to want to make enough to sustain themselves and live comfortably, he said.

Ford said many businesses are trying to grab millennials. “In this particular case, they don’t fit.”

Another class mentor, Bob Pierson, managing consultant with Profit Recovery Partners in Costa Mesa, assured the team members they were performing a consulting function by advising a client not to spend money where it planned and presenting an alternative.

Echoed associate professor Teckchandani: “They can disagree with it. … My hope is that the requirements are going to be consistent with what they want, but sometimes that doesn’t happen. … What’s important is that you can stand on that foundation you’ve created.”

Aftermath

So that’s what the team did when it presented its recommendations to recruit older millennials and to shorten the training program. By providing more thorough background research after the initial presentation, the team was able to explain the grounds for its findings and overcome some hesitation on the part of the office owner and manager.

But not every problem is easily solvable.

“The friction occurred when we stated where to approach or find these older millennial aspirants,” Wells said. “Our research found no definitive answers on how to recruit these people.”

The team did suggest changing the job posting to better reach them, and discussed methods the mentors recommended, as well as making changes to the office’s formal work culture.

“With the research we conducted, we easily justified the adaptations to postings and work culture,” Wells said.

To become a CSUF Consulting client

Own a business looking for innovative ways to improve? Contact Charlesetta Medina, client project specialist, at cymedina@fullerton.edu or 657-278-8243.

Cal State Fullerton student musicians entertained members of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute on Jan. 16 with a concert that ranged from Brahms to jazz.

About 70 faculty members and members of the CSUF program for older adults attended the lunchtime School of Music performance in Mackey Auditorium at the Ruby Gerontology Center.

Before each number, the students read a brief statement about the piece they would perform. Some paused during their talk to play a few notes to demonstrate the musical concept they were describing. After each duo or trio played, they held a short question-and-answer session with the audience.

During a Q&A with cellist Isaac Kim and pianist Yun Janice Lu, Kim said Lu was the best pianist he knows, then added, “She’s also my girlfriend.”

OLLI’s programs include self-directed study groups, educational lectures, computer education, physical activities, social activities and travel opportunities.  OLLI members enjoy the benefits of student status, which include a campus parking pass, access to the library, free admission to athletic events, discounts at the student store and discounted admission to performing arts events. Members may audit any regular CSUF class with permission of the instructor. To join, go to olli.fullerton.edu.

—Wendy Fawthrop and Leonard Ortiz

By Tran Dang

I was in for an adventure when my plane landed and I met three other Cal State Fullerton students who I would spend quality time with during the fall semester in a foreign country. The four of us had enrolled in a study-abroad program with limited information about the institute where we would be studying.

Little did we know, Dong-Ah Institute of Media and Arts is one of the most prestigious art institutes in South Korea. According to some performing arts students, there is a one in 10 chance to get into DIMA for their major.

It depends on the major, but DIMA’s acceptance rate is generally low. The professors are well-known for their talents in the Korean entertainment and media world, such as actress Park Hae Mi and Song Ok Sook. My professor for color grading and documentary classes, Neil George, is an award-winning filmmaker who is currently working on a documentary while he teaches.

DIMA students are also an inspiration to me. Classes are three hours long. Some students take eight to nine classes per week while they also have jobs. Since I am staying in the dormitory, I see students practicing for their concerts and plays after midnight on campus. I witnessed students designing stages for their films and plays. After a late-night practice, they would walk up and down the dark hills in the mountains to return to their studios or dorms because shuttles are unavailable after 9 p.m. Walking up to the dorms after a long day of classes, work and practice is exhausting, but it is normal for them.

After attending various concerts and plays produced by DIMA students, I can see why the institute is one of the best for media and arts in South Korea. It is fascinating to see how everything comes together through the students’ determination and perseverance. I am proud to say that I am attending a school filled with talented individuals.

Several award-winning Korean movies and dramas have been produced at the on-campus studios, such as “The Man from Nowhere,” “Train to Busan” and “Good Doctor.” Celebrities attended and are currently enrolled at the institute. When I look at the history of famous DIMA alumni, I am star-struck, because I often see them in the media and I listen to their music.

Since DIMA is hidden in the mountains in the countryside, I like to venture out to Seoul with my friends every weekend. This is a popular city to indulge in the Korean culture, as well as to meet more friends. In October, I mainly stayed in Seoul, due to Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving), and a two-week internship at GSA Public Relations.

I smile every time I think of October. When I typed my monthly report for DIMA, I did not know where to begin since so much happened that I had to read my journey to remember everything.

Seoul has many tourist attractions and other universities, so I made amazing friends and unforgettable memories. My bond with my fellow Titans is unbreakable from spending every moment together. We made friends from California who are mutual friends of my friends and family. We made friends from other countries who I connected with deeply, and we keep in touch as we make plans for future meetings. Seoul made me realize that the world is vast and small at the same time.

My time at GSA PR brought more opportunities to participate in various events and campaigns. My fellow CSUF friends and I interned as a team to work on branding a newly launched skincare company. We did extensive research to form a creative brief, media strategies and marketing ideas. We visited the studio with our boss to test each product to further develop ideas. By the end of our second week, we sent everything to our boss and supervisor, along with our individual ideas to brand the company. A week later during Korean language class, we got a group text from our boss that one of our ideas was picked as the next campaign. To my disbelief, it was one of mine. A little moment of success may be nothing, but I felt proud and content.

Our supervisor started a storyboard for the idea, and we have been developing and filming for the campaign since. The skincare company also offered to pay us to film an advertisement that will be on a well-known television channel.

Initially, I was worried that we would not learn much from this short internship, but I gained experience, as well as made more connections within those two weeks. Besides working for the skincare company, we met another set of clients who are refugees. They opened a restaurant, which became one of the most popular in the area. We visited the restaurant with our boss and had the opportunity to sit down to learn more about the refugees’ heartfelt stories.

Interning at GSA PR consisted of learning and eating delicious food from our clients and with our supervisor. One of my favorite moments is when we enjoyed a three-hour Italian meal made by a celebrity chef at an agriculture event with other clients.

Just like everyone said, studying abroad is life-changing and unforgettable now that I am experiencing it. South Korea has a special place in my heart; I will visit again to relive my memories and see my friends.

It has been bittersweet because my time here is ending soon, and I am not ready to say goodbye. I will miss getting lost and wandering around Seoul with my friends. If a career opportunity arises in South Korea in the future, I will not hesitate to pack my life and move here.

Tran Dang is about to begin her final semester at Cal State Fullerton, where she is a communications-public relations major also completing a minor in psychology. She plans to pursue a career in public relations and social media with the long-term goal of working internationally.

“Authentic rebellion has a grace. It does not scream, it is a state of mind,” read the Valentino show notes.
For the past few seasons, Pierpaolo Piccioli has been exploring his vision of masculinity, one that casts off gender stereotypes to focus on individual expression. After cycling through punk and streetwear, his journey led him to post-punk performers such as Adam Ant, The Cure and Visage.
In line with his ethos of quiet rebellion, the New Romantic influences were subtle — a smudge of eyeliner here, a silver spike stud there. The latter sprouted up on the sleeves of a slim navy double cashmere coat, or a lightweight black parka. A leather jacket would have been too formulaic, Piccioli argued.
“It’s about the personal gesture,” he said backstage. Behind him, a series of mood boards displayed images including a portrait by Italian Renaissance painter Lorenzo Lotto, dreamlike photographs by Duane Michals, and Keith Richards cavorting topless through a Belle Epoque mansion.
“It’s about the freedom for men to be exactly who you are. I think this is a moment when men are thinking about themselves. After centuries of rules, men maybe in these [last] three decades are trying to express themselves,” Piccioli added, by

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This felt less gritty rock than collections past, with Haider Ackermann showing a more merch-friendly, cleaner side. Fully intact was his sense of color and nomad instincts. On a range of layered military-ethnic silhouettes for a chic dandy, the designer juxtaposed Army green and khaki with the jewel tones of the silky rich fabrics.
Quilted green and gold underlayers flashed out from the big tailored coats and jackets, silks lined upturned lapels, and white silk-linen cherry blossom embroideries climbed across the clothes, mixing with stripes on one of the kimonos.
Soft unconstructed velvet leisure suits underscored the cocooning mood, with the designer saying backstage that he wanted it to feel lived in, “that the person inhabits the clothes.”
The floaty black coat in country florals with quilted gold lining was to die for.
“That’s what I enjoy the most, to play with colors and fabrics and patterns,” said Ackermann. And it showed.

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For the starting point of their fall collection, dubbed “Nostalgic Future,” Cmmn Swdn designers Saif Bakir and Emma Hedlund tapped the gawkiness of adolescence and its desire to be done with growing up by taking on the still ill-fitting trappings of adulthood. They certainly had the long-sleeved ungainliness down pat in this exploration of serious tailoring meets the brash colors of sportswear.
The London-based duo told their coming-of-age tale through modern silhouettes that acknowledged both ages of man. A gray checked suit looked fit to impress for that first job interview, while former outdoor hobbies were not forgotten by slipping a brightly colored parka over it.
Most well-adjusted were a navy car coat spliced with tartan, pin-striped cargo pants, brushstroke camouflage and hooded short-sleeved shirts. While not novel tropes, those were certainly uncommon enough to catch the eye, and will help the five-year-old brand weather their own growth spurts.
It wasn’t your dad’s suiting, and beyond the expected clash of sportswear and suiting, Bakir and Hedlund seemed to pose the question of what will be really worn in the office when the streetwear generation grows up. Their predictive answer was, in a nutshell, weird and wired.

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PARIS — Reflecting a period of churn at the helm of leading luxury brands, the jury of the LVMH Prize for Young Fashion Designers will welcome no fewer than three new members this year.
Clare Waight Keller and Haider Ackermann, artistic directors of Givenchy and Berluti, respectively, will join the lineup together with Sidney Toledano, who is preparing to take over as chairman and chief executive officer of LVMH Fashion Group after almost 20 years at the helm of Christian Dior Couture.
Together with industry-leading designers including Karl Lagerfeld, Marc Jacobs and Nicolas Ghesquière, they will judge the fifth edition of the contest, which on December 15 opened its site to applications from anyone between the ages of 18 and 40 who has produced and sold at least two women’s or men’s ready-to-wear collections.
“We are very excited by these three invaluable additions to our jury,” said Delphine Arnault, the force behind the initiative and a key talent scout at family-controlled LVMH, noting that both Waight Keller and Ackermann have designed collections for women and men, helping them develop a broad skill set.
“We are proud to welcome Sidney Toledano in the jury this year. Sidney boasts a tremendous experience in the world of

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HONG KONG–It’s not yet been a full year since singing legend Céline Dion launched her eponymous bag and accessories line, but after an initial launch in North America, the brand is mapping out ambitions to cultivate the Asian market.
Innee-Sedona International, the Asia partner for Bugatti Group which co-owns of the Celine Dion Collection, said with sales that have topped $10 million after just three collections, the company is now setting up an Asian distribution network in earnest. 
“Celine, her fanbase is worldwide,” said Jennifer Chan, Bugatti Group managing director. “We can see in Hong Kong a lot of people know her and we were surprised. In China, a lot of people may not know her name but they know her songs as she was in the 2013 Spring Gala with Song Zuying.”
Dion took the stage for CCTV’s annual New Year Gala special, one of the most widely watched programs on Chinese television, singing in Mandarin.
Positioned slightly below Michael Kors and Coach, the collection is also expected to get some uplift in the region as the singer begins an international tour. Last week, she announced concerts across seven Asian cities starting in June.
“At the moment, she’s not going to mainland China but we’re trying

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