Following a Dream

We love following what’s happening with budding cosmetology students at Aveda Institutes far and wide. Their passion and drive are infectious. This year, we are excited to be shadowing our partner Monica Stevens (moknowshair.com) in her journey from beauty blogger to beauty student. You’re likely familiar with Monica as we have featured her before in the story TFFs: Tress Friends Forever.

We’re so impressed with Monica’s drive to follow her dreams and her love of beauty. After working 10 years in a corporate role in Kansas City, Missouri, Monica left her job and moved to New York City to pursue her dream of becoming a hair stylist. This fall, Aveda sponsored Monica to attend the Aveda Institute New York as a cosmetology student just as the school opened its doors, newly remodeled and looking beautiful.

“Taking the leap to move to New York City for the opportunity to follow my heart shows me that with diligence and vision, a dream can be turned into a date with destiny,” Monica says.

Located in the SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan, the newly revamped 14,500 square-foot flagship space is an expression of Aveda’s commitment to environmental responsibility and leadership, and an ideal learning environment for future Aveda Artists.

Recently we caught up with Monica to find out how things are going and here’s what she had to say:

Living Aveda: What were some first impressions you had of school on your first day?
Monica Stevens: The first thing I noticed about the Institute is how committed everyone is to the students’ success. And not just the standard speech you get when you arrive at a new school or even a new job, but a sincere welcome that felt genuine from each instructor and staff member.

LA: Was there anything interesting that you learned your first day that really got you excited for the full year ahead?
MS: I’m most excited about learning the Aveda color system. I love color and it’s incredibly cool to learn that Aveda’s color system is based on pigments, versus traditional pre-mixed colors.

LA: What Aveda educator are you excited to learn from and why?
MS: The realness of Sharada Parks, Cosmetology Educator, is like a breath of fresh air. I have sat in many classrooms in undergraduate and graduate business programs, and they are very traditional in approach. But Sharada’s style of instruction is met with lots of personal experience and humor, which makes the information easy to relate to. I’m also hoping to have more instruction from Jessica Madden, Cosmetology Educator. She has instructed one of our sessions so far and her enthusiasm makes her so much fun and an all-around joy to learn from — not to mention making the material memorable.

LA: How has it been as a new resident of New York City?
MS: Adjusting to NYC has been quite the challenge. Everything I knew to be comfortable and easy is the complete opposite here. I lived a life of driving in minimal traffic, convenience, and having abundant, very clean space in Kansas City. Now I find myself racing to trains and in the midst of what feels like endless amounts of people. But what New York City does have over Kansas City, for me, is opportunity. It’s going to take me some time to adjust to the lifestyle differences, but I am finding ways to make my rhythm sync with the beat of the city.

New-AINY
The new Aveda Institute New York

Posted to Living Aveda blog on Thursday 19 November, 2015

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