This Entrepreneur Is Taking Her Non-Profit Beauty School Online Due To COVID-19

Atlanta-based entrepreneur Patricia Thompson Terry is one of the many entrepreneurs who has had to adapt to the new realities brought on by the novel coronavirus pandemic. She has been forced to close down her beauty school due to mandatory stay-at-home orders issued by the state.

Instead of keeping her doors closed, the beauty entrepreneur has decided to take her courses online so students can continue their studies in quarantine.

Terry is the founder of Touched by An Angel Beauty School and Salons, which has two locations in Jonesboro and College Park, Georgia. Since the lockdown, the school has introduced a dual online training program where all incoming students can start their introductory classes and current students can finish the second half of the program online. 

While hands-on training cannot be offered right now, students can complete online courses in hair theory—and not just in Georgia. The school recently became certified to teach students in Virginia.

Terry is also the founder of a non-profit organization called TBA Helping Hands “A Pathway to Success,” which awarded full scholarships to 30 students for immediate attendance to her beauty school. Her goal is to give men and women the opportunity to attend, learn, and receive their cosmetology license from an accredited beauty school. The scholarships can be used to cover their tuition through graduation.

In honor of International Women’s Day, the foundation issued 15 scholarships along with free bus passes and free daycare for mothers who were displaced and victims of domestic violence.

“Nothing is more important to me than giving back,” Terry told Eurweb. “Yes, my schools are the most affordable in comparison. But, I know there are some people who can’t afford it. I want to give them a chance.”