There's a lot of pressure on kids to figure out what they want to be while they're young. But I graduated from high school not knowing what I wanted to do. I enrolled in college and took a few classes. Then I left and went to beauty school.

I got my license in 1980 and took a job at a Michigan salon that happened to be a Redken salon. At the first Redken show I attended, I met some of the top Redken people—Ann Mincy, Bill Peplow and Dr. David Cannell. I realized I wanted to do what they did. I'd found my place. I asked one of our distributors how to get started, which brought me to the opportunities Maly's distributorship had for people wanting to do in-salon and on-stage education.

and it begins

So at age 21 I became an educator for Maly's and for Redken products. I remained at the salon, working full-time, and on a part-time basis I went to salons to teach technique and product knowledge. We talk a lot about “authenticityâ€â€”when you're doing the work yourself, you're more effective teaching it.

My own training for the position was two-fold: I was sharpening my technical skills while using the brand, and I also was learning how to speak and present. In addition, some classes focused on time management, featured motivational speakers or offered something that helped me become a better person and a better educator.

At first I taught at salons throughout Michigan, Indiana and Ohio. Next I started to do bigger events like stage work for an audience of anywhere from 50 to 3,500 people! In the early 1990s I was offered a full-time position working with Redken and Maly's as a sales educator so, at that point, I left the salon. In 1995 I went into management for Redken, working as a full-time training manager responsible for educational activities first throughout the midwest and later over half of the country. Today my title is national director of U.S. field training, overseeing all the regional training managers and the “People and Programs†educational activities conducted by the distributors and our approximately 500 Redken artists.

teacher's treats

My work is really rewarding. Every day I have the chance to impact and make a difference in someone else's life. That's what I'm all about. I watch stylists have a transformation in their hair color or design ability; I see the lightbulb go on when someone learns something new and can apply it in the salon. That people development is so gratifying to me. All hairdressers have that same experience with clients—every single day hairdressers have the opportunity to change someone's life. Not everybody can say that!

I don't have a college degree, and yet what I've learned over the years at Redken makes me feel as if I do have a marketing degree, a business degree, an education degree, a finance degree—and who knew? I thought I was going to school to become a hairdresser, and here I am managing education for an entire company. I still go to classes to continue my own development—and all this time I've continued to live in Michigan.

In this industry, the opportunities for personal and professional growth are amazing. Align yourself with people who can help you grow, and opportunities will definitely come your way.

Bobbi Foster-Kelly, National Director of U.S. Field Training, Redken