From Tears to Triumph

Alumna Creates Beauty Academy to Empower Future Beauticians

When she worked as an admissions counselor at a “for profit” college, Nicole (Nikki Davis) Taylor (WC ’90) learned to provide a listening ear, and often offer handkerchiefs to the cosmetology students who visited her.

“I was seeing these adult students come into my office literally in tears because of how they were being treated,” Taylor said. “A lot of them were either being kicked out of school or dropping out (because of the high cost of training).

“A 21-year-old student leaving the program $30,000 in debt to cut hair made no sense to me. A lot of students didn’t understand financial aid. For some of these schools, it was just a money grab.”

Taylor said the corporate colleges did nothing to help these students, and the state board of cosmetology “ignored their cries.”

Finally, Taylor decided to do something about it. She and her business partner Sheila Crossty started the Destiny Beauty Academy in 2021, where beauticians learn the latest trends in cosmetology, hair and nail design, and skin esthetics. Additionally, the academy helps students learn how to run a small business, offering courses in marketing, social media, brand development, and other skills needed to run a small business.

When the students enroll at Destiny Beauty Academy, they pay tuition out of pocket, so no federal aid is involved. Any money they earn while they are working at the academy goes toward paying their tuition.

According to Taylor, most students come in with their clientele and have a zero balance by the time they take their boards.

Destiny Beauty Academy’s enrollment grew to nearly 130 students this June and was profiled in Mortar Cincinnati last March. The school has a 100 percent job placement so far. Most students graduate with a solid clientele base and a plan of how to serve them best and run their business.

According to Taylor, limiting the debt they begin with can make a huge difference.

“When they are starting, they already have their suites or can work in a salon, but very few of them know how to build a business,” she said. “Most of them have to have a 9-to-5 job (outside of their beautician jobs) just to be able to (pay off their student loans as well as their other expenses).”

One of her greatest accomplishments is the number of non-English-speaking students who have graduated from the program.

“We have been blessed with students from nine different countries,” Taylor said. “I call them our Rainbow Tribe.

“We’ve had Chinese students who come in here barely knowing any English. And when they leave, they’re also speaking English and throwing some slang in there.”

While Google Translate has helped most non-English speakers communicate with their teachers and classmates, Taylor believes they have picked up much of the language by working with classmates.

“What puts a smile on my face is seeing so many different cultures blend together,” Taylor said. “Our students are all about helping each other. That’s the way it’s supposed to be.”

Taylor said the Destiny Beauty Academy is not just her job; it is her passion.

“This is a ministry for me,” Taylor said. “I’ve always had a servant’s heart, and I knew in some way I would be a part of a ministry. I just never knew it would be this platform.”