The Mirror's Health , Lifestyle and Fashion
Young Legon graduate ventures into barbering
But it seems fulfilling to choose a career of choice.
Such is the story of Miss Bernice Aboagyewaa Botchway, a 25- year- old graduate of the University of Ghana, Legon, who studied Sociology and French at the University of Ghana.
Advertisement
She completed her National Service and decided to follow her dream of becoming a professional barber.
In an interview with The Mirror, at Ashaley Botwe in Accra, she disclosed why she chose that career path.
“I was born into a family of hairstylists and had my basic life at the saloon because my mother is into hair styling, and she has done that for about 34 years now. I do help her out after school hours at the saloon and on weekends, but not that much at the university because I had to study and I devoted my full time to my books. I could
only help her out when I was back home from school.”
Miss Botchway explained that she wanted to find a different path for herself, especially outside conventional careers.
And since she was born into a family of hairstylists, she grew up with the dream of becoming a hairstylist, but decided to step out of her comfort zone and have a new experience from what she has learnt from her mother and her family.
According to her, she has plans of pursuing a Master‘s degree in the future:
“I do not want to depend only on my certificate. I am yet to decide what to do with my MA instead of the first degree because it is just a pathway to the remaining goals. Moreover, I want to challenge career choice stereotypes.
“I have never been intimidated by any one. Rather, I am faced with the challenge of being the best in my chosen field, though that seems not easy because new styles come every day and one must be creative to turn things around.
“The only thing that makes the difference between who we are is our work”, she added.
Advice for the youth
Miss Botchway encouraged the youth to not only centre their life on education or books. Instead, they should take advantage of every opportunity that avails itself and make good use of it.
She encouraged parents to give their children all the necessary support should they opt for such careers
“Though education is good and gives you basic knowledge, the young ones should consider vocational careers.
“And as there are challenges regardless of where you find yourself, the fact must be accepted that nothing is achieved on a silver platter”, she said.
She added that the youth should be wary of their friends as “they can talk you out of your dreams”.
