Our unique runway/editorial scholarship (the BEAUTY CHANGES LIVES | LEO PASSAGE EDUCATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP) is currently accepting applications, so it seemed like the perfect time to interview one of last year’s winners Latasha Coy to get the scoop on her experience. This incredible opportunity is generously funded by Pivot Point International and winners receive an all-expense paid, five-night, six-day trip to the 2017 America’s Beauty Show (ABS) in beautiful downtown Chicago, March 22–27, valued at $7500.
BCL: When did you decide to become a hairstylist?
LC: Ever since I was a little girl, I had a dream to become a hairstylist and to change people lives either by making them look or feel beautiful!
BCL: What was your time like with Pivot Point at the Beauty Changes Lives Experience? How did you prepare/come up with the looks?
LC: I didn’t know what to expect when I found out I had won the scholarship. When the winners were announced, we still had months before we were to be in Chicago. I was nervous to meet the other winners but so happy and over the moon about it all. Just a ball of emotions all together.
The first night upon arrival to Chicago, the driver was waiting for me with my name on a sign. This was definitely a first for me. I was now living the lifestyle I had seen in the magazines. I felt like royalty! The driver took me to the hotel where I had met the other winners (Alaska, Matthew and Holly). The connection between us all was very instant! It was like we had known each other for years!
The very next day we went to the Pivot Point studio where we started preparing for our show. We gathered pictures by looking at magazines and books and had to come up with an inspiration photo. The second day was getting our mannequins cut and colored and a practice run for our real live model. The third day we had several models to pick from. The models had to fit our cut and color we had imagined and had to rock our inspiration! My particular inspiration was short hair with a sunset color and hair tattooing on the side. The fourth day we performed the cut and color on the model and then the model had a photo shoot and had to mock the runway with the attire we had chose from the clothing line as well. After the fourth day we went to the America’s Beauty Show and this was the final walk through and model walk. Everything went smoothly and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience. We rocked the Beauty Changes Lives Experience!
BCL: How did receiving the BEAUTY CHANGES LIVES | LEO PASSAGE EDUCATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP change your life and career?
LC: Winning this scholarship has done amazing things for me! I have had contacts locally for haircuts and hair tattoos as well as color! Whenever I go into a salon, most of them know me already from pictures through Pivot Point and talking about my experience just makes me light up inside. I feel like I have an upper hand now and I am very blessed to be in the hands of amazing people who mentored me throughout the way.
BCL: What are you up to now?
LC: I currently live in Clarksville, TN. My husband serves in the US Army so we are constantly moving around. I work at a salon in Clarksville called Sash Salon.
BCL: How has beauty changed your life?
LC: Beauty has blessed me in many ways! After cosmetology school, I enrolled into Esthetics. I am dual-licensed in both Esthetics and Cosmetology. Knowing everything I can about hair and skin is all that a person needs in life! Making yourself beautiful on the outside makes a person feel good on the inside. This career is by far the best ever!
You can follow Latasha on Instagram @thecoyz or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/
