UCPS CTE Cosmetology Graduate, Anabelle Chizmadia, Opens Her Own Salon
Below is a personal story from Anabelle Chizmadia about her career journey. Anabelle is a graduate of Marvin Ridge High School and attended the CTE Cosmetic Arts and & Science Academy during her junior and senior years.
“Starting my career journey at a very young age was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. When I was in 10th grade attending Marvin Ridge High School, I remember hearing about an opportunity to attend a Cosmetology School through Union County Public Schools during my Junior and Senior year. I decided to sign up for it without a second thought in my mind. I remembered how much I loved to do both my sisters and our Barbie dolls hair growing up. When I heard I got into the program through Walter Bickett Cosmetic Arts and Science Academy, I was eager and ecstatic to start. In the beginning of my Junior year, each semester I went to two core classes in the morning through Marvin Ridge High School then attended WBCASA from 12:30-5pm. It was such a great experience to build career skills while still attending high school.
It was 2020 when I started the program, which happened to be the year when the outbreak of the Covid pandemic occurred. Second semester of that year was when classes started being conducted virtually. It was definitely a challenge to go through my second semester of cosmetology school online, as it is more of a hands-on field. Fortunately, my instructor did an amazing job keeping us on track even from home. When the outbreak of Covid started to calm down and everything somewhat was going back to normal, my cosmetology class was able to be back in person at our school. Due to the pandemic, I wasn’t able to complete all of the hours required to get my full cosmetology license. Luckily, I was still able to meet the 1200 hours and receive my apprentice license for cosmetology. This was around the same time I graduated high school and received my high school diploma.
While I was in school I was working in a salon as a receptionist to get my foot in the door. Once I graduated with my apprentice license, I started an apprenticeship at my current salon and trained with the owner. I trained for 6 months to complete the rest of my hours and receive my full cosmetology license. I worked in the salon for about two years building my clientele, continuing my education and learning new techniques. In October of 2023, I was confident that I could succeed at running my own salon. I had a broad following of clientele and decided I wanted to work for myself. I started looking at suite rentals in the area and found a space that I loved and was perfect for what I was looking for. I decided to take on this adventure and start my own business. A majority of my clientele followed me and I continued to grow my client base through social media and promoting myself. I’ve built stronger and closer relationships with my clients who refer me to family and friends. My business has been thriving ever since and it makes me love my job each and every day.
Attending WBCASA at such an early age has shaped me into who I am today. Starting my career at 16-17 years old has matured me into a successful 22 year old business woman. It amazes me from where I started to where I am now that I have been able to achieve so much in just 5 short years. I absolutely love going to work every day—not just to make people look beautiful, but to touch their hearts as well. My career journey has been filled with incredible growth, and I look forward to continuing to evolve, inspire, and make a difference in the years to come.”
Congratulations to Anabelle. We are proud of your success and wish you much more going forward!