The Beauty Changes Lives Foundation has awarded CosmoProf Licensed to Create Scholarships to four cosmetology students. Each winner receives a $5,000 tuition award. The winners and their respective schools are:

Gabi Cooper, Bluffdale, New York—Mandalyn Academy

Gabi believes hairstylists are indispensable in helping people deal with life’s big and small problems.  In her scholarship application video, she showed a hairstylist coming to the aid of a student with a broken arm on school picture day. “Even though Eden had a broken arm, she slayed picture day,” noted Gabi. Another video vignette showed a hairstylist removing a piece of chewing gum from a young woman’s hair with minimal hair loss. How does beauty change the hairdresser’s life? Gabi has a one-word answer: “Happy.

Karla Garcia, Aveda Institute—Phoenix, Ariz.

Karla’s humor shines through in her application video. “Hairnets are not the next hair trend. Trust me, I tried,” she laughs, remarking on her job as a prep cook. Before finding her Christian faith, Karla lived in New Orleans, New York City and Oahu, Hawaii, and experienced both domestic abuse and homelessness. She believes education is the key to success and aspires to combine two very different careers – owning a vegan beauty salon and serving as an attorney and advocate for education reform. How does beauty change lives? Karla says it’s a lot like her application, “unorthodox but incredibly sincere.”

Shavarstine Pease, Capri College—Dubuque, Iowa

As the first person in her family to attend college, Shavarstine says it took her “a few times going down the wrong path and trying to please others” before finally following her dream of working as a hairstylist. Shavarstine loves the confidence and sense of empowerment that hairdressers give their clients and each other. “This CosmoProf scholarship instills confidence in me to pursue my dream, all because someone I’ve never met believes I can succeed,” she says. “I am happy now pursuing a career that I know I will love.”

Yuchao Zhao, Sassoon Academy—Los Angeles, CA

Immigrating to the U.S. from China, Yuchao personifies the American ideal of pursuing a better life through hard work. She currently works two jobs while attending beauty school and says the CosmoProf scholarship will help her spend more time practicing her craft. “I want to use my career to help people find their own style and shining point,” she says. “And I want to show my mother I can support her as a hairstylist.”

Introduced in 2017, the CosmoProf Licensed to Create scholarship celebrates the artistic skill and unlimited creativity of beauty professionals. “Cosmoprof honors the hard work and inspirational talent that thrives within this industry and the Licensed to Create Scholarship is one tool for celebrating NextGen hairstylists,” said Jennifer Wilder, vice president marketing at Cosmoprof. The scholarship is funded through generous contributions from CosmoProf customers, proceeds from Licensed to Create merchandise, and the support of brands including DevaCurl, Joico, TIGI and Wella, as well as a matching contribution from CosmoProf.

 “The dedication and passion for education these winners embody as they pursue their dreams of becoming a hairstylist is inspiring ,” said Lynelle Lynch, president of the Beauty Changes Lives Foundation. “Through the generosity of CosmoProf, each of these winners is moving closer to her career calling.”

 CosmoProf sponsors two scholarships annually. Additional information about applying for the Spring  2018 scholarship is available here.