myCanvas / myCourses 
Emily Gill, Marketing & Communications Dept.
Savannah Vail is as cool as her dyed checkerboard pattern buzzcut.
“I’ve had every hair color ever,” she laughed. “I am the rainbow.”
Fitting then that Vail is due to graduate this December from the Blue Ridge Community College Cosmetology & Esthetics program with her diploma this fall.
“I have always loved doing hair,” Vail said. “My husband has natural hair, so I really wanted to learn how to do it and be confident in it for him and for if we have kids.”
Vail with her project for the Valentine’s Day themed challenge to create a style with “Anything But Hair.”
Vail originally planned to be a high school art teacher, but COVID threw those plans off track. While working a temporary job, Savannah thought through what she wanted to pursue: something creative and that would be beneficial in the long run.
“I had just moved to the area in early 2024 and heard a lot of good things about the Blue Ridge program,” said Vail. “The program has been great with a lot of hands-on teaching. I’m a person that learns differently from everybody else. I need two extra seconds longer than everybody else, and the teachers and the students have been really respectful of that.”
For Vail, the people are a big part of what makes the program excellent.
“The teachers handle us all well, and there’s a lot of different people in that room, from ages 17 to 52,” she said. “The people around make it a lot more special. You get perspective from people that you may not cross in life otherwise.”
The benefit of a range of students helps with the cosmetology and esthetics skills themselves as well.
“There are several ways to fry chicken, but you might only know one way. Somebody over across a salon knows a completely different way to fry chicken,” she said. “I could be laying in highlights, but somebody else knows a totally different way. It’s cool to be able to talk to everyone and get their opinions and advice.”
Following graduation, Savannah plans to get a tattoo apprenticeship to specialize in cosmetic tattooing.
In Vail’s words, “There’s no end to what you could do with a cosmetic set of skills.”
Learn more about the Cosmetology & Esthetics program at www.blueridge.edu/cosmetology.