Nail Technology Student Success Story: Megan Pressley

Megan overcame some rather difficult obstacles in order to finally pursue her dream and to do something for herself. After doing admissions for almost 6 years now, it can be very saddening seeing people limit themselves and their abilities because they are afraid of taking a risk. Going back to school isn’t always an easy decision to make but for some it can be about survival. Take a look at Megan’s journey so far at Evergreen and learn about how and why she decided to take on the beauty industry!

About Megan

To get a better understanding of why someone would decide to take on a second career, we asked Megan what she was doing before she enrolled in school. “I’ve been in love with make-up and nails my whole life. I started getting acrylic when I was about sixteen and haven’t stopped since. A little less than a year ago my husband and I decided to divorce and then a few months later I lost my job at the medical clinic I was working at. That was when I decided it was finally time to do something for me, something I’ve always wanted, and I enrolled at Evergreen Beauty College,” said Megan. I appreciate your honesty and for being so open about your experiences and sharing about a very vulnerable time in your life.

Once she made the decision to start school, soon after she began to figure out what her strengths and specialties are. “I was never a gel person, but I have found since starting this course, that my strength is in gel overlays. I’m still hoping that will change by the end of my schooling, since I still love my acrylic so much :).” Having multiple strengths really will make you that much more marketable once you are out in the industry!

The Evergreen Experience

Referrals can be a school’s best friend! We love meeting with new people who hear from others about great experiences with Evergreen — great enough that they are willing to look further into the company! For Megan, “Evergreen was recommended to me by a local salon owner, where I live, so I came in for a tour and to talk to admissions, and I immediately fell in love. I was even more excited to start this new journey after my tour. The staff and program are absolutely wonderful.”

I’ve noticed a growing trend in getting the opportunity to write up these stories about our students and what they feel has helped them the most during the program. For instance, the fact that we require our students to bring in models. We could just let our students practice only on themselves and not require them to bring in people from outside the school, but that wouldn’t be doing them any favors. For when you are out in the real world, you won’t be making money by only doing your co-workers nails. We push our students to step outside of their comfort zones and it makes me feel so proud that the students realize how important this is. “Honestly, just booking models. The more I can get in here, the more hands-on practice I get, the better I will become. I learn and grow with each new model I do.” What a perfect way to set yourself for success after graduation!

The Next Step

And speaking of graduation, Megan already has a few places in mind as far as employment. “I have a few salons interested in me and am looking forward to checking each one out and finding the perfect fit for me to settle in and build my clientele.”

And, as always, we want to know from our best students, what type of advice they have for any prospective and incoming students. Megan said, “Have fun and never doubt yourself. A piece of advice I got from another student when I was doubting my ability to do my own sets: ‘Think positive. If you think negative, you’ll get negative.’ And she was right. I stopped doubting myself and ended up with a set of nails I was actually very pleased with.”

Megan is set to graduate at the end of March 2018 and what better way to support our students and Megan than to come and get a service done from her at our Everett campus! And if you are interested in continuing to follow Megan through her beauty school adventures, you can also check her out on Instagram @megspressley. Congrats, Megan, on a job well done already. You are going to do some wonderful things in this industry!

If you are interested in pursuing a career in the beauty industry, you can check out our programs or contact us at one of our three locations: Everett, Renton or Yakima!