KRISTIN RUMMELL: Salon Institute is a very business focused, fashion focused, cosmetology college here in Toledo. We are the only TIGI Creative school in NorthWest Ohio. And our entire purpose is to elevate the salon and beauty culture industry through education. This is not a last resort if you can't do anything else, this is a calling - this is a career. KRISTEN KING: I was seventeen when I started beauty school and I had no intentions of it being my career. That changed once I started getting into the industry and working behind the chair and seeing - one, the passion of all the people I was working with. They love their job. That's rare to find that in any career field. And just working with great educators and seeing there was way more to this whole career field than just cutting and styling hair. You make people feel so great about themselves when you do that make-over or that look change and it's such a rewarding job. KRISTIN RUMMELL: In the state of Ohio, there are a few different licenses you can get as a beauty expert. It goes all the way down from esthetician, so you can get an esthetician license, you can go all the way through cosmetology manager, and there are a couple different levels in-between. In order to be able to practice full cosmetology, which is hair cutting, coloring, manicures, pedicures, facials, basic waxing - Everything involved in cosmetology is a fifteen hundred clock program set by the state of Ohio. What we do here at Salon Institute is we offer a full eighteen hundred clock hour cosmetology manager program. It's going to give them additional credentials, so they're actually going to take their test for their cosmetology manager licenses. KRISTIN RUMMELL: So in two thousand thirteen, which is our most recent recording year, we had a ninety four precent job placement rate. KRISTEN KING: This industry can be what you make it. If you put all of your heart and pour all that you have into it, you can make a lot of money in our business. We can't be outsourced. If you're passionate, you'll be successful. KRISTIN RUMMELL: A lot of the high school students who really tent to excel here are the one who were very focused on science, very focused on art. There is so much science that goes into hair dressing - You would really be shocked. KRISTEN KING: The biggest one that I think would really help most would be anatomy. A lot of people struggle with the anatomy chapter, but we still have to know all the muscles, all the bones, all the nerves, the whole, you know everything about the body. We still are tested on that. KRISTIN RUMMELL: Take your geometry. Take your anatomy. Take your chemistry, all of that. And then also take some art classes. Pick up a pencil. Learn how to draw. Take a class that's going to help you with color. KRISTEN KING: I would say speech. If you are shy, or can't talk to strangers, that's a big part of our job is being outgoing and being able to get our own clientele, stuff like that. So speech or any elective that would cause you to talk in front of a group or just get you out of your shell a little bit more. All of those would be beneficial to take. KRISTIN RUMMELL: In admissions, I have talked to hundreds of students and so many of them say "well mom and dad really want me to go to University of Toledo or go to BG, and I just, I don't want to go to college." And that's a great time for me to encourage them that, you know, this is college but it's going to be different. This isn't a traditional four year college and that is so ok because traditional four year college is not for everyone. This is a great chance to take your artistry and your desire to just do something creative and do something different and to transform it into a really viable lucrative career.