Student Feature | Kent Ellson
Hairstyling Student
What made you choose this career?
I’ve always loved anything art related, and being able to use my creativity within a career was always something I wanted to pursue. I also love making people feel good about themselves. That’s why hairstyling seemed like a perfect fit for me.
What program are you in/when did you start?
I am in the part-time hairstylist program and I started in April of 2021.
What’s the most valuable thing you have taken away from The Style Academy?
There’s nothing, in particular, that’s more valuable than anything else I’ve taken away. The staff and the educators each have a plethora of valuable skills and techniques to teach and every day I’m learning something new.
What keeps you motivated to push forward?
My partner, my family and my friends are all huge motivators for me. I also am my own biggest motivator and I’m striving to better myself and continue to grow as a person.
Who has been your biggest inspiration and why (in or outside of the industry)?
My partner is my biggest inspiration, he’s really the reason I decided to take the leap into the hair industry. He’s a motivated, hardworking and extremely talented hairstylist who’s been in the industry for over a decade. Seeing him succeed at something he loves to do inspires me every single day.
What are your favourite services to offer?
I came into the school thinking barbering was what I wanted to do but as I’ve progressed through the program, cutting, coloring, and designing women’s hair has won my heart and attention. You get to be so creative and there’s endless possibilities to what you and your clients can come up with.
What do you look forward to most having chosen this career?
The ability to be creative with my work on a daily basis, “never a dull moment” if you will. Also the ability to connect with people and be able to make them feel good about themselves.
What is some of the best life or career advice or tools you have been given?
The moment I realized the school meant ‘business’ per se was when we were offered journals to help us navigate and organize our careers and lives. To work on not only our skills as stylists but also our well beings as humans. To keep track of our things, and to hold ourselves accountable for the goals we’re striving to achieve in our careers, or in life in general.
Share your greatest “aha” moment so far.
I have an “aha” moment pretty much every day but overall it’s the marrying of all the different parts of hair styling (design, sculpture, and color). When you’re new you are just trying to absorb as much information as you possibly can in a short amount of time. But once you get to the creating part the overall process starts to make sense. You begin to see all the details as a whole.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Just that I’m excited to keep learning and to see where my education takes me!
