LYNN – Exams usually occur before graduation. But less than a week after receiving their diplomas, five Lynn Vocational Technical Institute (LVTI) graduates once again awoke for an 8 a.m. exam, packed their school supplies and garnered another accomplishment – earning their state cosmetology licenses.”They’ve worked hard,” said Cosmetology Teacher Lorraine LeBrun last Tuesday. She said no class had so many students immediately pass the licensing exam in seven or eight years. “It was a lot of work, but it paid off.”Ganelin Roman, 19, Kelsey Brown, 19, Ciara Clarke, 19, Salinah Kent, 19, and Neysi Deras, 17, all graduated from LVTI June 6 and became state-certified cosmetologists on the 11th, traveling to Malden for a 5?-hour-long exam beginning at 8 a.m.The exam consisted of two parts: students first took a written exam and then, if they passed, they had a “practical” test.This consisted of 16 tasks the students had to master including giving a perm, giving a facial, makeup application, manicures, a blow-dry, using chemical relaxers, braiding, cutting hair and foils, and chemical application. Each of the tasks were timed, and the test-takers had to supply their own models for the day.The test was the culmination of 1,000 hours of training for the students. All but Roman and Kent said they had begun their training as freshmen at LVTI. Teacher Linda Ryan said some former students in the cosmetology program have needed to go to further schools to get the required hours for the license. Others decide against becoming a cosmetologist, she said. This year, three students didn’t go out for the licensing exam, LeBrun said.The state certification allows the young women to work in a salon, “finally,” added Brown.But the young women have further steps. They have to get another license, and accrue enough hours, to get a license to operate an independent salon. There are always new techniques in which to become certified, LeBrun said. For instance, Brown said she was already certified in giving hair extensions.And most of the students said they have to now find a salon in which to work.But Tuesday as they returned to LVTI after the exam, they were still chatting about the test – what happened when an eyeliner pencil broke, the difficulty of performing finger waves, and comparing the strictness and grumpiness of their practical evaluators.But teachers and students all said the overwhelming emotion was pride.Cyrus Moulton can be reached at [email protected].