Aveda Artist Sarah Shultz of First Impressions Salon, Fort Wayne, Indiana, is prepping for an epic beauty and fashion journey— to work backstage at New York Fashion Week. Her path begins tomorrow with Aveda's Jon Reyman and the Runway Styling class at the Aveda Advanced Academy in New York City. Shultz will then join other Aveda Artists to work backstage throughout fashion week this September. In the fall, she will bring all her insights and knowledge back to the salon and to her clients.

MODERN will be following Shultz and is kicking off with a Facebook LIVE this Monday morning (August 7, 10 am EST), watching an updo demo along with runway styling techniques from Reyman, one of NYFW superstars. Here we learn more about Shultz with a 3 question Q and A:

Q&A Spotlight on #AvedaArtist Sarah Shultz

Why are you excited for the Aveda Runway Styling class?

Wow, where do I even begin?! Excited is a complete understatement. I am dying to get the fuel in my veins to drive me into FASHION WEEK! It’s been a dream of mine to work backstage, and to do it right— to be an asset to a strong team and create beautiful hair in this high-energy environment energy. I’m certain, this class will provide me with a new set of skills that will help me flourish. 

I am also so excited to meet and interact with the best stylists and educators in the styling industry! I just became an Aveda Purefessional™ in 2016 and this type of work is exactly where I want to be eventually, as an educator. To learn from the best will help get me closer to my goals. I love cutting and styling and the Aveda Artists and educators I meet are so incredibly talented and inspiring, helping me to be the best I can be.

What are you expecting to learn at the class? 

How to style a variety of different looks in an intense environment, how to deal with unexpected situations and how to be part of one robust machine delivering gorgeous hair in a short timeframe. I am also expecting to be very much inspired through the process, people, educators and my peers! Every time I go out into the Aveda community I meet someone new and I’m always in awe of their talents and capacity for sharing their work and knowledge with me. Connections with inspiring people taps into another level of myself that fosters even more growth from within.

As an artist, how have you continued to grow in your career?

By building and having a solid support system I have grown tremendously. I’ve received so much of this from Aveda. Becoming a new Aveda Purefessional™ has been one of the most liberating, yet humbling experiences of my life. I want to be an educator and share my knowledge with others and this program has helped me to realize my potential while zeroing in on the areas I can work on for improvement and the areas I can lead with to be a help for others.

I couldn’t have done this without the support that Aveda and the network have provided. I have been working as a stylist for some time, but only joined Aveda three years ago and the opportunities I have had are really incredible. It literally is my tribe. So many people, reaching for the same goals and passion through each other. Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE is here to share their knowledge in hopes to help create such success in education. I love it!