Generations of Grads: Michelle Hilty

Raphael’s School of Beauty Culture has been helping students become beauty professionals for 50 years! We’re so proud of this achievement and can’t wait to see what we can accomplish moving forward. To celebrate this incredible milestone, we caught up with some of our past students to see where they are now and how their time with us influenced their future in beauty. For our first Generations of Grads story, we interviewed Michelle Hilty. Her passion for beauty and desire to learn are just some reasons why we think she’s a great example of what it means to be a Raphael’s School of Beauty Culture graduate. Read more to learn about her beauty journey!

About Michelle

Michelle started our cosmetology program in January of 2015 as a full-time student. Before applying for an education with us, she had started beauty school when she was still in high school. After taking some beauty classes in the career center, she decided to attend a traditional school instead. Even though Michelle didn’t complete her beauty education then, she never lost her passion for beauty! She would still keep up with the latest trends in the beauty industry and stay updated with the world she loves so much.

Eventually, Michelle finished her education at college and received an Associates’ degree in business management. It was hard for her to enter the working world because no career seemed like it was the perfect fit for her personality. Once she had thought about it some more, Michelle asked her mom if going back to beauty school would be a good idea. Michelle’s mom said that she thought that would be a great choice for her. In fact, she said that she didn’t know why Michelle stopped pursuing a future in beauty because she was really good at it. Michelle decided to apply for our cosmetology program!

Experience in Beauty School

Michelle was a little nervous to start beauty school since she was 37 years old, but the school setting made her feel right at home! She said all the students were so welcoming to new people and willing to share what they had learned since enrolling in our program. Creating a school environment where students feel encouraged to develop skills in what they’re passionate about is an important part of our culture. We’re so glad that Michelle could feel welcomed in our beauty family!

During her time in our program, Michelle learned all about the latest beauty trends. She had always been interested in changing beauty styles, but now she could find out how to do them herself! In our program, Michelle said that was able to learn new braiding techniques and more about makeup when it was really becoming popular. As trends have changed and grown, she learned about other techniques like balayage and more coloring skills.

A Future in Beauty

After completing our cosmetology program, Michelle says that it was an easy transition from student to stylist. When she was 1500 hours in the program, she started interning at Carly Allen’s salon, our VP of Operations at Raphael’s. Students need 1800 hours to complete our program so this was the perfect opportunity to get some working experience as she finished her education. She said that the women who worked there were very friendly and their multiple years of experience in the industry has allowed her to grow a lot in her own skills as a cosmetologist! She loved it so much that she’s still working there and has been since April of 2016. Her business background even helped her become a salon manager almost two years ago. She shows just how successful you can be with skills in both beauty and business!

We are so happy that Michelle was able to start her dreams of becoming a cosmetologist with us. She’s a great example that it’s never too late to do something you love! If she could give advice to current students, she said she would tell them to keep going after their dreams. If beauty is their passion, then all your hard work will be worth it. We couldn’t agree more with her!

Join Students Like Michelle

Do you want to learn beauty in a well-established school? Whether you’ve just graduated high school or you’ve been thinking about a career switch for a while, our cosmetology program could be a great option for you! Contact us to learn more about how you can get started. We can’t wait to hear from you!