Career Advice from Cosmetologists - Video & Transcript

Cosmetology students and industry award-winners talk candidly about a career in hair, beauty and wellness. Today's cosmetology programs have expanded to include the full spectrum of esthetics: skincare, hair, makeup, nails, and spa treatments.

Transcription

Dulce: I chose the beauty industry as a career because there’s endless things you can do. You can make people feel good about themselves and that’s what I love the most about it. I love doing good things for people and making them feel good about themselves.

Ginger: I’m a receptionist at the salon right now. I watch all the girls here in the day and it looked like a lot of fun and I eventually wanted to be able to do it myself.

Alyssa: I enrolled in esthetics because I was concerned about my skin and I wanted to learn how to take care of other people’s skin.

Eric: There were many options I found that were available to me. I found them with my financial advisor here at school. We explored many of those options and she showed me what was beneficial for me.

Megan: My goal is to take the skills that I’ve learned here and the sky’s the limit. I believe that I not only learned about cutting hair, doing makeup, a little bit about skin – I learned a lot about myself. And if you can make someone feel beautiful, make them feel happy, then you’ve been a success that day.

Eric: Upon graduating, I expect to, of course, get my license from the state board, move on, work in a salon for a bit, get a feel for the industry and exactly what it’s about. And I hope to move on and own my own salon some day.

Alyssa: I hope to find myself in a day spa and then, eventually, my ultimate goal would be to teach esthetics to other students so they can have an experience like mine.

Teraya: I would like to work behind the scenes on fashion shows, music videos, movies, and things like that.

Nancy O’Dell (PBA Beautiful Humanitarian Award winner): Thank you all so very much. I can’t even tell you how much I love the people in the beauty industry because I depend upon you guys so very much. Some of my hairstylists are good people and my best friends. So, this honor truly means so much to me and it is a pleasure to be amongst so many of you talented people.

Kelli Parks (NAHA20 Student Hairstylist Award): The number one thing that drove me here, is that I can change so many people’s lives by changing their hair and makeup and I don’t think there’s anything better than that.

Geno Stampora (NAHA20 Hall of Leaders Award): I think the future looks brighter than it ever has before. I think that with all of our hard work and all of our sincere dedication, the industry becomes more and more noticed – how important we really are.

Dulce: People always ask me: “How do you stay at school all day?” And it just goes by so fast, and it’s fun and it’s so amazing and I love it.

Eric: There are many excuses we find for why we can’t do something and there comes a time when you just have to put your foot down and go after your passion and do what you love to do.

Stampora: There’s nothing greater than this great industry called beauty.