Description

I am Crystal Martino. I went to the Dorchester County Career School for cosmetology in 11th and 12th grade. I was not sure if I wanted to do hair, skin and nails but I always loved hair salons. I was really interested in having my own salon and hiring stylists. As I learned about cosmetology I became more interested in serving customers and collaborating with stylists. My instructor Mrs. Mixon told me that if I want to own a hair salon I need to be a hair stylist because what if I have the customers but I don’t have a hair stylist. That is when I knew I wanted to be a licensed cosmetologist I got my license in 2004. I have been my own boss ever since then. I got tired of traveling to work in somebody else’s hair salon in 2011. So I opened my own salon called Crystyle Family Hair Care, in April 2012. After working in my community for so many years and watching my dad and his mom give back to their college Claflin University, I wanted to give back to the school that helped me discover my gift. I started a corporation called Crystyle Family Hair Care Incorporated in 2020. I am the executive director with 4 board members. We plan to ask for donations to support our mission and we plan to pay monthly dues to keep up our annual Dorchester County Career School scholarship in honor of Crystyle Family Hair Care Inc. The purpose of this scholarship is to support the vision of future cosmetologist that are going to the Dorchester County Career School in Dorchester SC. I remember my classmates and I were conc about getting the money to pay for the cosmetology kit. This annual Scholarship will award at least one student with $250.00-$350.00 to pay for their cosmetology kit that they need for the rest of their career. Unfortunately in 2022, the career school in Dorchester didn’t have a cosmetology class anymore so I had to give my scholarship to the nail technology class. My daughter Anania Martino went to the career school for cosmetology in the 10th grade and unfortunately she had to switch to nail technology to keep going. She got her nail technology license in the 11th grade. She started working in a nail salon in the 12th grade. She finished highschool in 2023. She continues to work in a nail salon and pursue her other goals in life. The kit scholarship was awarded to her when she went to the Dorchester county career school. Last year two students got the scholarship. I was so happy to get their thank you cards in the mail. I don’t tell the instructors who to give the kit scholarship to I simply give the money for the kit to the school from my corporation and they can decide who the award goes to. I am just happy to be giving back to students like me in my community.

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