I came to Cinta Aveda Institute in May of 2011. I had always had an interest in doing hair, however I never really recognized it for what it was. I was always the person who was asked to do a friend’s hair when they needed it, partly because I was very creative with my own hair, especially my own color.
I used to do my own color in my tiny dorm room in college. I started doing my friends’ hair by cutting my roommate’s hair. Gradually people just started asking me, and I started doing it. If I didn’t know how to do something, I researched it online and tried it out.
As I was nearing the end of college, I was doing regular cuts and color for most of my friends. I had an “Ah-ha” moment when I realized that I could do this everyday as a career and get paid for it. At the time I was about to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in photography. As I was making my way through college, I had started realizing that while I love photography as an art from and I love to do it, I didn’t want to do it as a career, day-in day-out.
via Pinterest (Cinta Salon)
I started looking into cosmetology schools as a possibility for when I graduated. At the time, the economy was horrible and new college graduates didn’t have much hope for getting a job right out of college. It was all around a good time to start an education in cosmetology.
In looking into schools, I soon found out that many beauty schools only focus on getting their students to pass the state board exam, but they didn’t focus on actually teaching students how to succeed in a salon environment. I wanted a school that would help me transition into a higher-end salon. I knew I didn’t want to graduate and then immediately go on to rent a chair somewhere.
I researched and toured several different schools in the area. Cinta Aveda Institute impressed me immediately when I walked in. It struck me because everyone was so professional and welcoming, it was really a place I wanted to be. I haven’t regretted my decision at all. I am a few days away from graduating from their cosmetology program, will be moving on to the barbering program, and I am very excited to be finished and going out into a salon.
