More Than Hair, What it Takes to Succeed in Cosmetology

On this episode of the Tech Times Podcast we learn about what it takes to make it in the world of Cosmetology. We sit down with Instructor Kerri Bowman and students Carter and Jenn to see what it takes to succeed in this world.

Transcript

Announcer: From Tulsa Tech, helping you make your own path with insights and information about the world of career training, the Tech Times Podcast starts right now. 

Ryan Williams (Host): Hey everybody. Welcome to the Tech Times podcast. I'm your host, Ryan Williams. Today we're headed out to our broken Arrow campus. Amongst the massive manufacturing space, truck driving range, and dozens of automotive classrooms and shops is a large cosmetology program.

Ryan Williams (Host): Here to chat all things related to professional hair, skin and nails is instructor Ms. Kerri Bowman, welcome to the podcast. 

Kerri Bowman: Thank you. 

Ryan Williams (Host): So can you tell us a little bit about your background and how you found your way to Tulsa Tech teaching cosmetology? 

Kerri Bowman: Yes. I actually went to a tech school to get my cosmetology license.

Kerri Bowman: In Stillwater. Yes. And then I moved to Tulsa and I worked, in a salon here for many years. I always wanted to teach my instructor at the time. Told me you'd be a great teacher, you should come back and get your instructor license. So I always wanted to do that. And then finally, years later, I came back to Tulsa Tech and got my instructor license and, started subbing here and.

Kerri Bowman: I eventually got hired to teach. 

Ryan Williams (Host): It's interesting how the power of suggestion really sparks that interest. Is that kind of what you think really kind of guided you into teaching? 

Kerri Bowman: Yes. I always had it. Like I didn't think at the time, I was like, oh, I'm not gonna teach. But in the back of my mind I was like, oh, maybe I would like that and I actually love it.

Kerri Bowman: So 

Ryan Williams (Host): how long did you work in the salon? 

Kerri Bowman: , I worked at a spot about 15 years. Okay. 

Ryan Williams (Host): Yep. 

Kerri Bowman: Okay. 

Ryan Williams (Host): So a lot of experience there. And then bringing it to the classroom. Well, let's dive right into the program. , It's a two year program for high school students. So what's one word you would use to describe the atmosphere of the cosmetology program?

Kerri Bowman: Enthusiastic. They're just enthusiastic about everything. They have pa they come in with passion. They, a lot of them already like love nails or they love makeup or they love hair, they love aesthetics. And so they'll come in with that passion. And so it's great 'cause we can just build on that passion.

Kerri Bowman: We can add to the passion. So they're, they're enthusiastic, they're happy to be here. It's not like home high school where they have to go set in English. They want to be here. 

Ryan Williams (Host): Not in a negative light, but is it kind of a naive passion? Like they don't really know what 

Kerri Bowman: Yes.

Ryan Williams (Host): They how to do or what to do or whatever, and then they can come in and actually be guided?

Kerri Bowman: Yes. I tell them, TikTok and Snapchat are not always great sources, but they are good sources in some areas, but they have to, I have to tell 'em, you can't believe everything you see on the internet. It's the internet. 

Ryan Williams (Host): Yeah. What makes this program stand out from others? 

Kerri Bowman: We're the best. , We have high expectations.

Kerri Bowman: And they, when you set that bar high, they reach it. It's amazing. They're, they're talented people. Always give teenagers and youth a hard time, but they're amazing If you. Give them the tools and let them do it. They, the sky's the limit with them. 

Ryan Williams (Host): Hmm. 

Kerri Bowman: And so, yeah, they're amazing. 

Ryan Williams (Host): How does Tulsa Tech help students prepare for real world salon work or even maybe owning a business?

Kerri Bowman: We tell them all the time, we are not preparing you to go to the 12th grade or to move on. We are preparing you for the world of work. It's part of our skills. USA motto and things like that. So we. We just incorporate things that you would have to do at a job. If they're not gonna be there that day, they have to send a message and let us know on Remind, I'm not gonna be there today.

Kerri Bowman: Here's why They have to be here on time. They can't be tardy, just professionalism, not just hair, skin and nails, but how to act professionally. You have to get along with your coworkers. You have to. They're professional talk. You can't say bruh. If you wanna be taken serious as an adult, you can't go around calling people, bruh.

Ryan Williams (Host): Do you have a lot of that in the early 

Kerri Bowman: Yes. And so I always say, okay, after winter break, when you come back, there's no more of that. If you wanna be taken serious as an adult, you have to act like an adult. And part of that is the way you talk and how you carry yourself. So, , but we just have high standards, , in their work, in their responsibilities.

Kerri Bowman: Respect and they match it. They, they'll meet you there. They want the, I think they want that bar. They wanna reach it. 

Ryan Williams (Host): You mentioned a little bit about skills, USA, that's, is that the career tech student organization they're a part of? Yes. So talk a little bit about those competitions, what that brings for those students.

Kerri Bowman: So there's different types. There's the leadership side of skills, USA, where they can, , compete and work at, it's like job skill demo. So they can demo a skill. They can do. , Like opening and closing team, they can do speech where they give speeches and talk in front of people. They can do, , interview where they set an interview, , and then they get judged and graded off how well they interview.

Kerri Bowman: So that's kinda the leadership portion. And then there's a skills portion, which is they can compete in cosmetology, which is hair, so they'll do like haircut and an updo. , This is at like the regional level. At state level. They'll do color as well. And then. They can do barbering. So men's cuts, and then they can do aesthetics, which is like facial or makeup, and they have to do an evening and a daytime style and then, nails.

Kerri Bowman: And so they'll have to do gel nails and acrylic nails and nail art. So it's pretty, , they don't, so in all of these, whether it's leadership or skills based, they also have to take a professional development test. And so they'll ask 'em questions over the skills. USA, like, you know. Workplace skills and things like that, technical skills and things.

Kerri Bowman: So they'll ask 'em all kinds of questions about professional development. So that goes into the portion of all of it. 

Ryan Williams (Host): That's a lot of skill building, right? . In all just those organizations alone. 

Kerri Bowman: Yes. Just in Skills, USA. It's amazing. 

Ryan Williams (Host): Okay. Curiosity Killed the cat. For someone who is follicly challenged or doesn't have any hair, , what's an updo?

Kerri Bowman: An updo is, , so like a evening style, you know, like if you were in a ball and the ladies wear their hair up and it's curled and styled, that's what. And updo is. 

Ryan Williams (Host): Gotcha. Okay. . Good to know. I don't think I'll have that problem. , But , 

Kerri Bowman: you could use a wig so

Ryan Williams (Host): I could, yeah. Oh, that would work. That would work.

Ryan Williams (Host): What are a few of the skills that students develop while here? 

Kerri Bowman: Professionalism skills. They hair cutting skills, coloring all the technical skills they're gonna develop. , Aesthetics. How to wax eyebrows. How to wax lip. Do a facial, nails, manicure, pedicure. All of the things, 

Ryan Williams (Host): I was gonna ask this as a question, but it sounds like there's, from what you've been talking about, there's really one skill that you try to instill in students right before they, like, before they graduate and go into the workforce or wherever they go.

Ryan Williams (Host): . It sounds like that professionalism is kind of that one skillset that you guys try to instill in every student. 

Kerri Bowman: Yes. They want. to do all the technical stuff. So that part is easy. , The bridge between living in high school and living in the professional world is very different. And, , so that's where.

Kerri Bowman: A lot of emphasis is on that and just making sure you're in where you're supposed to be, doing what you're supposed to be doing at all times. , It also helps we have, I mean this is kind of cool about Tulsa Tech as a whole. We have our academic center and they help, , we partner with them and so they do really cool stuff too in the math area and in the resume.

Kerri Bowman: They'll do resumes and business cards over there to help with that. They also do, in the math area, they'll do a difference. She, she kind of shows them the breakdown and shows 'em what it would take to run a salon and like the difference between booth rent and owning your own and, , commission. . So it's very, we team together here.

Kerri Bowman: And so they kind of ask, what do you need and what do you, and so we, we work together with that. 

Ryan Williams (Host): That's really cool. And we, we actually have those academic centers and reading centers on campus. 

Kerri Bowman: They're on every campus. 

Ryan Williams (Host): So having that resource for students is invaluable. 

Kerri Bowman: Yes. Invaluable. When you tell 'em that you're gonna go to, we call it the math lab.

Kerri Bowman: It's not really the math lab, it's academic center. , They're always like, what? And they never wanna go and then they end up loving it 'cause it's based off their salon, you know, like hair coloring formulas and she'll work with them on that or you know, just things like that. She. Makes it fit our program.

Ryan Williams (Host): Right. It's not just quiz sheets, 

Kerri Bowman: No, you're not, you're not adding, and I mean you're doing it. It's for the program. 

Ryan Williams (Host): Right. Right. What certifications or credentials can students earn while enrolled? 

Kerri Bowman: So they will, at the end of their second year, they will take two tests. They'll take a written exam and a practical exam with Oklahoma State Board of cosmetology.

Kerri Bowman: They have to pass, pass both the exams with a 75 or better, and then they will achieve their cosmetology license. And so. 

Ryan Williams (Host): Does, do those certifications kind of give those students a leg up on industry? 

Kerri Bowman: They have to have those certifications to be in the industry no matter what. Okay. No matter what. 

Ryan Williams (Host): Okay.

Ryan Williams (Host): Yes. Does Tulsa Tech kind of provide that as a competitive advantage or like in like where do other schools land when you graduate? Maybe. 

Kerri Bowman: Well, they all, every school has to, you have to test. So every school sends people the test. I will tell you, we have a really great success rate with our passing of the test.

Kerri Bowman: So I, I think we prepare them very well. Not, we don't just prepare them for the test, but we prepare them for the test and for the world where sometimes I feel like maybe schools might just prepare them for the salon and not as well for the test or the test and not as well for the salon. And I really think that at Tulsa Tech we have a really good balance of both 

Ryan Williams (Host): that well-rounded approach.

Kerri Bowman: Yes. 

Ryan Williams (Host): , What do student, how do students feel, , when they have opportunities to work directly with clients for the first time? 

Kerri Bowman: They love it. , Yes. They love working with clients. 

Ryan Williams (Host): They don't get nervous at all. 

Kerri Bowman: They do, they do at first, but, , they, they want that, they want to do clients. , So yes, they, they love it.

Kerri Bowman: Now, I will tell you, when I make them do a men's haircut for the first time, they're not all. Always excited, but we still have to do it. So 

Ryan Williams (Host): how does that teaching, you know, when working with clients directly, how does that differ from teaching in the classroom? 

Kerri Bowman: Well, with clients, they have opinions and they have.

Kerri Bowman: All of the things, you know how you have to make sure the client is comfortable? You have to make sure you're listening to your client. , It's just they're more hands on. They have to be fully engaged. And where when they're in the mannequin or working in the classroom on or on a mannequin, they can, it's almost like, it's just like redundant.

Kerri Bowman: . And they, but when it's a client, it's a different, it's a higher expectation.

Ryan Williams (Host): Can you share an example of a project or client experience that really helps students grow in confidence? I, I can envision where working with clients directly, you, you really wanna build that confidence.

Ryan Williams (Host): So is there something you guys do to kind of help build that before they start working directly with the, 

Kerri Bowman: so we do, we, they work on each other. So they'll do each other as clients. They'll work, so I teach Cosmo two and Ms. Brunger teaches Cosmo one and so sometimes we'll. , Like we'll have Cosmo one be our clients.

Kerri Bowman: That's usually what we do. First, we'll work on each other, and then we'll have Cosmo one come in one day and they'll be our client. So we'll work on them. We'll give 'em a manicure or pedicure facial, things like that. And then we also team up with the. Other classes at our campus, so like machining or automotive and all of that.

Kerri Bowman: Oh, cool. And we'll invite their classes to come down. Yes. And so they'll come down and like they can sign up for a service and we do that and then we'll start taking outside clients. So it kind of builds their confidence a little bit before, before we just take just anyone. 

Ryan Williams (Host): So, , I know this is kind of a silly question, but what happens if you screw up?

Kerri Bowman: Well, I don't let anyone leave. Like if you're getting a haircut, I'm never gonna let anyone leave with a bad haircut. And they, they don't really, because they've had so much practice and they know the steps, they, and they, I'm always, I always tell them I am, I'm very hands on teacher and so I'm always like on the floor and I always say, you can always interrupt me if you need me to come get me.

Kerri Bowman: If you just have like one little question and you're not sure about something, ask me first before you do it. And so. Being hands on and being right there to guide and assist. I don't do it for 'em, but I talk 'em through it. It helps them build the confidence that they can do it. And then I, it's just, I'm there and so I'm available.

Kerri Bowman: I'm not. 

Ryan Williams (Host): So students are always supervised while they're working with clients. 

Kerri Bowman: Always supervised. Yep. Nobody leaves. with a bad haircut, we always make sure they look great before they go. 

Ryan Williams (Host): Very cool. You know, cosmetology is truly more than just hair. So what's the number one misconception you want to dismiss?

Kerri Bowman: It is so much more than that. , People think that we just curl hair all day long, but we don't. These kids learn chemistry, they learn anatomy, they learn electricity, and they have to know all these things because we put chemicals on. Your hair head, like if you're getting a hair color, it's a chemical and it could burn.

Kerri Bowman: Um, perms, same thing. I mean, you can cause burn, you can, I mean, we're using sharp shears in our hand to cut hair. They, they think it's just very simple. It's not the things that they learn and diseases and disorders, they have to know these things because they can't work on you. If you have, you know, an nail disease, , or a scalp, you've got something going on with your scalp.

Kerri Bowman: They have to be able to identify it. We can't diagnose, we're not doctors, but we can say, we're not gonna be able to do your service today because of this. So. It's not just curling hair all day long. It felt so much more than that. 

Ryan Williams (Host): So most of those symptoms are visual and you'd be able to see that when they show up.

Kerri Bowman: A lot of the symptoms are are visual. They show uhhuh, but we also do a client consultation. And so if they're on any medicine like chemo or Accutane for their face, I mean, there's things you cannot do, so you have to know. History of your client. You have to, that's why you have to do the consultation.

Kerri Bowman: That's why they have to know all these things. They have to know products and they have to keep up to date. Like on skincare, like if a student is on Accutane, we can't do a facial on them. You can't, they can't get waxed. It'll take a layer of their skin off. . So there, there's just a lot of knowledge behind it.

Kerri Bowman: People think it's simple. , But there is, I mean, we're the only other licensed person besides healthcare people that touch people. And so, and we're putting chemicals on people and so. It's more than just people think curling hair all day. Just making people pretty. 

Ryan Williams (Host): Have fun. Yeah. Hey, what's one piece of advice you would give to your students?

Kerri Bowman: Never let your license expire because it is always something you could fall back on. I do tell them that. So if there's, I mean, you know, you never know. Life is crazy. You never know. You might 10 years down the road be like, oh, I need extra money. I'm trying to put my kids through college, or go on a vacation and you can do this.

Kerri Bowman: Yeah. Cosmetology is great like that. Yep. It's always changing too, you know. 

Ryan Williams (Host): What is, what makes you so proud to work here at Tulsa Tech? What's your why? 

Kerri Bowman: My why? I love Tulsa Tech. I came and got my instructor license here, but my why is these students, I just, I love working with young people every day. I think sometimes they get a bad rap, but they're really great 

Ryan Williams (Host): What's with the bad rap?

Kerri Bowman: You know, people always mouthing young people. Oh. They're teenagers these days. You hear that all the time. Right. Teenagers these days, and I, they're great. They're so great. They have ideas and they have, they're enthusiastic and they're passionate and they're, they're great. 

Ryan Williams (Host): We're gonna take a quick break.

Ryan Williams (Host): When we come back, we're gonna chat, we, a couple of your current students.

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Ryan Williams (Host): Welcome back everyone. We are chatting all things cosmetology today. Before the break, we talked a lot about the program with Ms. Bowman, and now we wanna move to the other side of the desk and chat with a couple of students that are currently in the program. So welcome Carter and Jenn. 

Carter (Student): Hello

Jenn (Student): hello, 

Ryan Williams (Host): Carter.

Ryan Williams (Host): Let's, let's start with you. What made you choose Tulsa Tech's cosmetology program? 

Carter (Student): So, at my school, my home high school, they, so Tulsa Tech is like a really big thing. There's like a career service and they come to our class and they're like, they are the programs. And like they told me all about cosmetology and it just really caught my eye.

Carter (Student): 'cause I feel like it's a really good opportunity to get to do it, like while I'm still in high school. So when I'm done, I can already be a step ahead of my career. 

Ryan Williams (Host): Sure. Jenn, what about you? 

Jenn (Student): For me, choosing cosmetology, it was similar things with the home, high school, but also like I have history of cosmetologists in my family and I've always known people that went to Tulsa Tech while in high school.

Jenn (Student): So for me, since sixth grade, that was always something I was like, I know I'm going to do it. 

Ryan Williams (Host): Very nice. Made a lot of sense. What makes, , taking this program at Tulsa Tech so unique? Either one of you. 

Carter (Student): I think it's really unique because I think it's one of the only programs that have like a high school class and they get you prepared for state board and we just do a lot of stuff that I feel like some other people don't get to experience.

Jenn (Student): I think it's very unique because of the services we get to do and we get to perform on the people that are also in other programs in Tulsa Tech and just doing those things like services on people. 

Ryan Williams (Host): How is the experience, Jenn? How's the experience compared to what you expected when you started? 

Jenn (Student): I feel like it's everything I expected.

Jenn (Student): It really is, except for. Preparing for state board, that right there is like a nerve record. It makes you jaw clench a little bit, but overall, like it's what I expected. Like we're learning, we do the book work and then we do the hands-on training in first and second year. So you 

Ryan Williams (Host): have a family history though of people in cosmetology, so you kind of knew what was coming.

Jenn (Student): Yes. 

Jenn (Student): So, i grew up really like in the salon. It's nothing less than that. 

Ryan Williams (Host): What about you, Carter? Is it everything you expected? , 

Carter (Student): Okay, so I didn't really know what to expect. Okay. I just kind of thought like, oh, hair. I didn't realize like how much like work is put into what we do. Like, as in like the work behind it, like the workbooks and like the courses that we have to take, like anatomy and stuff.

Carter (Student): Like there's so much that you have to learn to get to the point where like hairstylists are, and I think a lot of people don't. See that part of cosmetology, 

Ryan Williams (Host): I think the chemistry side where you're putting color in people's hairs and you could potentially hurt someone. . That's the part that people don't think about.

Jenn (Student): And I think it's, that's why cosmetology school is so important. Yes. 'cause a lot of people think that they can just put their hands on people's heads or give them services, pedicures, this, that, and the third. . But the education behind it is so fundamental. It's so important. I agree. 

Ryan Williams (Host): Right, right.

Ryan Williams (Host): What's one piece of advice, Jenn, that you wish you had before starting this journey?

Jenn (Student): Have some time set aside, like specifically for your craft. Like you'll have schoolwork, right? Like your high school work. You also may, you might have a job, you might be employed, but you also need to set aside time to keep perfecting your craft outside of the three hours you have in this, in this program.

Jenn (Student): So, practice, practice, practice, practice. Perfect. Practice makes perfect. 

Ryan Williams (Host): Can you take, um, like. , For lack of a better term, one of the heads home and practice on that. 

Jenn (Student): You cannot take the mannequins home. Oh, mannequins, 

Ryan Williams (Host): thank you. 

Jenn (Student): You cannot, but just making sure like you have a support system is really important.

Jenn (Student): People that will let you basically plan their heads, like it's really 

Ryan Williams (Host): important. Okay. It is. Hopefully you have a supportive family. I do. Yeah. . Do you have a piece of advice, Carter? 

Carter (Student): I would say, I wish someone told me like, you're not gonna be good at everything right away. That is something that I feel like I struggle with.

Carter (Student): Like, I wanna be good at everything. Like even braiding today, I was like, oh, shh. Easy. Nope. So it's just like, it is a practice, it's not a talent. Like, I mean obviously it's a talent, but I think it's more of a practice 'cause it takes a lot of effort and time. 

Ryan Williams (Host): That's really great advice because people get frustrated so early on and whenever they're practicing something that they'll just quit.

Ryan Williams (Host): But really if you just keep at it, you're gonna perfect it at some point. So, , Carter, what's been your biggest, one of your biggest learning curves so far? And how did you overcome that? 

Carter (Student): Probably. Honestly, I might even revert back to saying I'm not gonna be good at everything right away.

Carter (Student): So I think it was last year we were doing something and it was the first thing that I wasn't really good at. 'cause I've always been like, I do all my friends' hair and I'm usually really good at it. And I actually. It was haircutting. And so I was so like down and I was like, oh my gosh, like what is, like, what is wrong with me?

Carter (Student): Why can't I do this? And I went home and I have my own mannequin at home, head at home, and I just started practicing haircutting. And I was like, you know what? I really just have to like put my time and my effort into this. And like Jenn said, like I have to make time for my craft outside of this if I really want to perfect it.

Ryan Williams (Host): For sure. Did you, Jenn, did you have a, a learning curve on a particular skill that you had to overcome? 

Jenn (Student): The particular skill for me would be. The perm? . I feel like every cosmetology student can't relate. Like doing the perm set is insane. It's like so much, you have to be very, what's that word? Meticulous.

Jenn (Student): Meticulous. You have to be very, oh, that's a good word. Yes, very. And it's something you have to do for stay bored, which is also timed, and you're getting points taken off. You have to be, the sanitation and everything has to be up to par. So the perm set definitely does it for me. 

Ryan Williams (Host): What makes perm so difficult?

Ryan Williams (Host): It's like I can't even, you say have to put the paper on that would say you have to, 

Carter (Student): so before you even start, you have to part there into nine different sections. . And so that's probably the hardest part for me. Once you get the groove of like a. Carter (Student): Wrapping it and stuff, it's totally fine. But the parting in nine sections super quickly is probably definitely the most difficult. 

Jenn (Student): You have like five minutes for it. 

Ryan Williams (Host): Oh, really? Oh, it's time. Oh, well, I guess you need to get clients in and out, right? . Yeah, that makes sense. How do you guys balance learning the technical skills while developing your own creative style?

Jenn (Student): It's a two year program, so I feel like the first year we're learning everything. All the practicals and technicals, and I feel like with being in second year, now we're getting to do what we want to. Yeah, do more. 

Ryan Williams (Host): That makes sense. 

Jenn (Student): Yeah. When we graduate cosmetology school, so we'll get to like whatever field we really desire to go in, we get to display those skills in second year.

Jenn (Student): More than we do in first year. So in first year you kind of have to, you have to do what the book says. It's that the third, but second year you get. Do your own thing, 

Ryan Williams (Host): you have to originally build those fundamentals Yes. And then be able to expand upon that. . In your second year. Is that kind of what you're saying?

Jenn (Student): Yes. 

Carter (Student): Yeah, I would agree. Like I feel like last year I learned like the basics and like everything I needed to know to start. And then this year it's like there's different types of like, oh, you can hold the hair this way when you're cutting, if it's that, if that's easier. Or you can part the hair this way, or you can foil this way.

Carter (Student): And it's just like whatever is most comfortable to you. And it just, and I feel like also like. She gives you a chance to like show your creativity and not just what the book says, and I feel like that's something that's also really nice. 

Ryan Williams (Host): How does it feel? I, I, this would make me super nervous. How does it feel to work with real clients for the first time?

Jenn (Student): I'm such a people person. I love to talk. I love like doing services on people, making people feel more beautiful than when they came in, like helping them. Like I just love things like that. Customer service is kind of my thing. So I love working on clients. It's never like a nervous thing or anything.

Jenn (Student): It's just a, making people feel comfortable breaking the ice and then. Doing what they want. 

Ryan Williams (Host): I mean, I, I like to talk too, but uhhuh, you know, the outcomes of their hair right, I got a hold of would be terrible. 

Jenn (Student): So you gotta be confident in what you're doing if you, if you just have that confidence in yourself, that's all it is.

Jenn (Student): Self-confidence, even if you might not be the best at doing this, just making sure you do it with to your best ability. The outcome. I mean, it's gonna be what you desire and how you feel about yourself. 

Ryan Williams (Host): It might end up being a Mohawk. 

Carter (Student): No, for me it's so, I won't lie. My first haircut, I was terrified.

Carter (Student): Obviously the client had no idea. I was terrified because Sure. I wasn't gonna let her know that. But so our teacher, we have a really good, like she will come and help us and like we have her. She checks it before. She checks it. After she checks it during she walks around and like monitors and if we need help, she's like literally there at like the snap of a finger and she doesn't wanna do it for us.

Carter (Student): She just wants to help us. So I find that like it's a really good learning lesson. A lot like I had a haircut yesterday and he had curly hair and I didn't know how to like, 'cause his hair had went this way and this way and this way and she showed me like a way to do it. So the next time I know. And I just think that it's really helpful to have a teacher like that.

Ryan Williams (Host): Very cool. Has this program changed your guys' view of what's possible in your career? 

Jenn (Student): Definitely, definitely. From like aesthetics to hairstyling to what else is there? It's so much actually. Nails, nails, like nails. Like it's so many different, there's so many different paths you could take. Just being a cosmetologist.

Carter (Student): Yeah. I think that like. There's like cosmetology if like, a lot of people assume that it's just going to be hair and that's all you're going to do, but like, if you have other interests, like your, not only your teacher, but like this school can help like get you to where you wanna be. Like we have a few girls who are really good at nails and like, so our teacher's like, okay look here, here's this nail salon.

Carter (Student): Like why don't you look at here? And so they just help you find where you wanna go. 

Ryan Williams (Host): That's very cool. So the age old question to high school students. What are you gonna do next? What do you plan to do when you graduate? 

Carter (Student): So I currently, I'm in front desk at an salon called Elon Salon. And so I plan, after I graduate and get my license, I'm gonna do their, I think it's a six month associate program.

Carter (Student): So I'm like side by side with another hairstylist there for six months and like learning and like, and the, like, the education doesn't stop after school. So I like continue to do like. Bookwork and test while I'm in the associate program. And then once I go through the six months, hopefully I'll get to be a stylist at that salon.

Ryan Williams (Host): Very cool. Yes. What about you, Jenn? 

Jenn (Student): For me, , in these two years I've realized that my passion lies in the aesthetic world. So for me, I'm torn right now between four year university or two years community college, getting my RN going through nursing school and becoming an aesthetics nurse to do injections and things.

Jenn (Student): Oh, wow. That sounds cool. Working in a spa. Yeah. 

Ryan Williams (Host): Okay. Well thank you both for joining us. I'm gonna give a shout out to Ms. Bowman for joining us earlier. She did a great job. You guys did awesome too. Thank you for being here. 

Jenn (Student): Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for having us. 

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