by Melissa Thompson, a student at Tricoci University
Beacon 2014 was one of the best experiences of my life. There were so many talented students and professionals that I met and will never forget. Geno Stampora made everyone feel more than welcome when we arrived at the Beacon Bash. He told us about what to look forward to during the rest of our time in Vegas. He was always so excited and confident when he spoke to us. He told us that every single one of us is special because we’ve made it this far!
Mark Cuban was one of the best speakers. He spoke to us about how we can make our business better than others and how to network. He said we need to know more about other peoples’ products than they do. He also gave us advice about how to sell products and that they don’t sell themselves. Toward the end of Mark’s speech, we were all able to ask him questions via twitter and he had helpful answers to all of them.
Winn Claybaugh was my favorite speaker. He was so inspirational and had passion in what he was saying. He talked to us about how we need to give 100%, 100% of the time. He said our lives are what we make them and our attitudes will determine what kind of day we will have. He has a saying – we can either be bitter or better – and I will start applying that in my own life.
The NAHA awards ceremony was amazing! It was so upbeat and exciting. There were so many amazing categories: Avant Garde, Contemporary Classic, Editorial, Hairstylist of the Year, etc. It was very honorable to have been able to see all the NAHA winners’ work. I would love to someday be able to call myself a NAHA winner!
I would like to thank my all of my educators, staff members and classmates at Tricoci University. They all helped me in some way to make it to Beacon 2014. I am extremely grateful that I had the chance to experience this wonderful opportunity of a lifetime.
Some imagery from probeauty.org.