Nell Strecker
Age 70 | aesthetic school owner | married | Vienna, VA
How do you stay on the cutting edge of aesthetic education? This was a career change for me. My background was in music. I am an early childhood music specialist and harpist. When I became interested in skin care, I was 52 years old. As soon as I graduated from Yvonne de Vilar Scientific Skin Care, Ltd., [my husband and I] bought the school. As a student, I was introduced to DERMASCOPE Magazine. I could see right away that there was a lot more to know than what was included in the course I just completed and was about to continue teaching. One of the first missions I had was to find people that knew skin care on a post-graduate level. I dove into all the options available to me. I developed a partnership with the International Dermal Institute; used trade magazines to keep myself and the students informed about advances in their industry, and went to trade shows to take all the classes and visit all the booths. Because of all these things, our curriculum changed and improved.
What is your biggest disappointment? Dealings with the Virginia Board of Cosmetology. After a long fight of 25 years, the Licensing (which finally came to Virginia in 2007) did not come with enforceable regulations. Substandard schools are being given licenses and repeated violations are ignored. Being the second state to offer Master Esthetics licenses has not brought the students that we expected. Not enough people are choosing this profession the way they did up until 2007. My biggest challenge is to have the high level of education we have produced be recognized and become the standard that other schools try to live up to.
What does the future hold for you? I would like to retire. My dream for my school is for someone to buy it (who has enough vision to take what I have made it to, to the next level). Then I can sit back and come in for services that continue to keep my skin healthy.
