Raven Faye Clark: Recipient of Tresemme’s Future Stylist Fund
Raven Faye Clark is a Cosmetology student at Empire Beauty School at Memphis Colonial, who is one of the recipients of Tresemme’s Future Stylist Fund. The Future Stylist Fund is a program dedicated to helping aspiring Black female hairstylists achieve their career ambitions, awarding Clark $10,000. To be eligible for this scholarship, Clark had to submit a short video describing her background and her needs.
This scholarship impacted me tremendously. This experience exposed me to different paths that are in the hair industry. It is not just working in the salon, I can work behind the scenes on sets or fashion shows. It basically helped me expand my horizon beyond Memphis. Tresemme gave the recipients a four-day, all-expenses paid trip to New York City in September. It was a great experience that I will never forget. We went to fashion shows, touring behind the scenes with the hairstylists and makeup artists. We did an open-panel discussion with one of the lead Fashion Designers, Batsheva, and met a celebrity named Normani.
Clark, originally from Chicago, Illinois, found her sense of home when she toured Empire Beauty School at Memphis Colonial. She had the opportunity to experience the Corporate world but realized her passion lies within beauty.
I have been doing hair since I was 10 years old, I have always been interested in beauty. It wasn’t something I tremendously focused on. I actually went to Mississippi State University for 4.5 years, graduating in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Management. I didn’t think I would be doing hair my whole life, I thought I would end up in a corporate setting. Once I got into the industry, I realized my passion for hair and I wanted to capitalize on that. In 2020, I started taking my career in the industry seriously.
Cosmetologists desire to make their clients feel confident in their own skin, enhancing the beauty they already have.
I love cosmetology because I love the feeling I get when a person gets out of my chair, it’s like a transformation. I feel like you can have a bad day, but when you look good, you feel better. That is my goal, to make people feel better.
For Clark, she finds the motivation in herself to reach her fullest potential to better her life.
My motivation is myself. I say that because, throughout beauty school, I had my first child who just turned 7 months. When I started, I didn’t have a baby but I am ending with one. Of course, he motivates me but I don’t look at it like that. I look at it as myself being my motivation. You can’t do things based on someone else. You have to do things because you want to do them. My biggest motivation is to better myself.
My educator, Mrs. Wilson has really helped me a lot throughout this process. Of course, it is hard, going day by day, but she basically motivates me to come to school.
Clark began her journey at Empire Beauty School in January 2021 and is planning to graduate in January 2023. With this soon approaching, she began thinking about the career path she will take.
After I graduate, I want to get more experience with salons in the area to get my foot in the door and build my resume. Eventually, I would like to move to Atlanta or Texas to expand my horizons.
One of Clark’s biggest takeaways from her experience at Empire Beauty School is to always be curious.
Never stop dreaming. You can be 50 years old and find your true passion. You always have to try different things and fail at them rather than never trying at all.
For more information about scholarship opportunities, Empire Beauty School, or how to enroll, please visit https://bit.ly/LearnMoreAtEmpire