When police showed up at Visions School of Beauty two years ago, the owner, Kenisha June, met them with excitement. She had just opened an email from the state confirming that her cosmetology school in the Ridge Clinton Plaza was approved.
Her enthusiasm startled her neighbors.
“I was shouting so hard in my salon that the store next door called the police,” June said while laughing. “They were too scared to come over to check on me."
The officers left puzzled, but they were unaware that June had spent almost four years trying to turn this beauty school into reality.
“I didn't realize how tangible it was, because no one (with a school) looked like me,” June said.
However, owning and operating a school, June said, appeared to be the natural trajectory for her career. June began doing hair as a teenager in her mother’s basement before moving into a salon. After gaining enough clientele, she opened Visions Beauty Salon, where she employed and nurtured other hairstylists for 23 years.
“I can honestly say I’m a natural leader,” June said. “I want everyone to be amazing.”
It was during the stillness of the COVID-19 pandemic that the idea of opening a school seemed palpable to June-- forcing her to finally look into the process. She sat with a mentor, she attained her instructor license, and she designed a blueprint that met every state regulation. Despite the roadblocks, June refused to give up on her passion. She said “It wasn’t about a race, it was at her own pace.”
“I come here every day, dressed up. I feel very successful,” June said. “I feel like I definitely accomplished something within my field.”
Visions School of Beauty is the first Black-owned cosmetology school in Upstate New York. Since opening her doors in January 2024, June has successfully graduated 27 students as enrollment continues to increase.
Kairah Roberts is a recent graduate of the beauty school who rates her experience as a "10/10."
“I knew how to do hair, but there were a lot of things that I did not know,” Roberts said. “She (June) taught me and she helped me get through.”
Roberts’ mom also graduated from June’s beauty school, and now they both work together in June’s salon. Roberts said she’s grateful for the opportunity to be able to build her resume in a professional environment.
“She's seen me as such a hard worker in school and out of school, so she gave me the opportunity to work in her shop,” Roberts said. “And it has brought me so many clients. It makes my life so much easier.”
June said the smaller size of her classroom has allowed her to create a culture where students are properly nurtured and well educated. She developed a curriculum that not only emphasizes creating hairstylists but also producing businesswomen.
“I’m creating bosses,” June said. “No matter where you come from, if this is a skill you have, I want you to take it to the next level.”
