Nail Technology Student Success Story: Lesly Orea Morales

About Lesly Morales

Lesly Stephanie Orea Morales lived in Minnesota before moving to Seattle after her high school graduation. Before she came to Nail Technology school, she was working part time at a nursing home while taking online classes. After push came to shove, Lesly found that she didn’t want to continue at the nursing home and wanted to pursue a different career venture. She decided to go to college and wanted to pursue a degree in criminal studies.

When Lesly moved to Seattle, she found that her plans quickly changed. She found herself watching hundreds of YouTube videos about nails, and quickly found herself passionate about the beauty industry. “I quickly grew the interest in becoming a nail tech. Right away, I knew that I wanted to continue with this passion and started practicing on myself. I absolutely love creating nail sets, and giving every nail set some type of creativity,” she shared with us.

It was when she found this passion that she decided to pursue a Nail Technology program. “The beauty industry is my absolute passion, and I enjoy taking care of myself. I love taking my time with every set and to give my best work every time.” Lesly started doing her own nails only two months before making the decision to enroll into school and has noticed her own progression since she started doing her own nails.

The Evergreen Experience

Lesly has made waves since beginning her program. “I love meeting new people and getting to know them. I enjoy that the program offers services to the public, and makes you get out of your comfort zone.” With getting to know new clients every time, she has found that she has excelled with her customer service skills and being able to offer different services to her clients.

Lesly’s favorite service? Full sets. “My strength is doing acrylic full sets. I taught myself and I keep teaching myself the new trends and ideas. I absolutely love doing super extra sets with bling, charms and stickers.” She loves that every client comes to her with different ideas of what they want in their perfect set. She has also found that since starting her program, she has picked up her speed in working with nails. “I’ve learned to work quicker, and I’ve minimized my work time from ten hours, down to three to four hours to complete a full set.”

Another thing that Lesly loves about the program are the assignments given to her by her educators. “I love that my educators give us challenges, and it gives me the opportunity to to learn more. I really enjoy taking myself out of my comfort zone and teaching myself things that I’ve never thought I’ll do. It makes you get super creative and see what you can do.”

The Next Step

Lesly prides herself in her freestyle sets, and loves doing trendy nails on her clients. She finds that helps set her apart. “Most of my clients have told me that they haven’t met a nail artist in Seattle that do freestyle work. It makes me happy that I can now offer those services to my community.” Another thing that she has found that has been helpful for her is giving her clients to book a silent appointment. “If any of my clients are going through hard times and don’t feel comfortable talking, they have the opportunity to book an all-quiet appointment. I want my space to feel comfortable and full of positive energy.”

After she graduates, Lesly wants to be her own boss. “I love having the ability to do nails on my own space.” She also has big dreams for herself in the nail world as well. “One of my goals after completing school is to become a content creator for nail companies.

My ultimate goal is to become a nail ambassador for “Not polish Nail Design.” Lesly also dreams of having her own studio to do nail services in and has many dreams for that space when she is able to get the keys for it.

When asked if she has advice for any incoming students, Lesly said, “Keep going and never stop practicing. Practice makes perfect. Don’t let yourself down. Even though you’re not at your peak right now, you never know the future. Always take pictures of your journey. You will feel so accomplished seeing your progress over the months and years. Don’t compare yourself to other techs, either!”

Lesly is scheduled to graduate from her program in late April/early May. If you’d like to follow along on her journey, her Instagram is @Nailedbyles_24. Congratulations Lesly! Evergreen looks forward to seeing you accomplish your dreams!

If you are interested in pursuing a career in the beauty industry, take the Beauty Biz Readiness Quiz.  You can also check out our different programs or Schedule a Virtual Tour, at one of our six locations: Bellingham, Mount Vernon, Everett, North Seattle, Renton, and Yakima.