Makenna Whitmer

For a long time, I was led to believe that beauty careers were unimportant, unprofessional, and a last resort. I was raised to work hard, get a formal college education (with a scholarship!) and emerge into the medical or business workplace with power and passion. When I enrolled at Brigham Young University in 2019 a full-ride academic scholarship recipient, my parents were so proud of me, but I felt dissatisfied. It was a shock to them — but not to me — that when I fell ill with a severe case of gastroparesis in 2023, I decided to put my BYU education on the side burner and reevaluate what I truly wanted out of my life. After some profound pondering and serious studying, I had an epiphany: I felt most myself when I solved problems, expressed myself creatively, talked and worked with others, and helped them feel confident. With objective eyes, I saw that these criteria would enable me to thrive in the beauty industry. As I let go of the weight of other’s expectations of me, I recognized that although I hadn’t been excited in months to pursue my formal college education, I was over-the-moon-excited about going to hair school! I want to pursue a beauty career because I think I will be a positive and kind influence on those around me. I want to challenge myself to be creative every day. I want to be confident that I’m doing something I love. Most importantly, I want others to be confident in who they are and the way they choose to present themselves to the world. After all, life is all about what you are doing for others.