Haywood Community College

• Prospective Students
• Current Students
• Community
• Alumni

• About HCC
  • Accreditation & Recognition
  • College Facts
  • Core Values & General Education Competencies
  • History
  • Programs of Study
  • Sustainability
  • Virtual Tour
  • Vision, Mission & Goals
• Administrative Depts.
  • Bookstore
  • Capital Projects
  • Human Resources
  • Information Technology Services
  • Marketing & Communications
  • Regional Center for the Advancement of Children
  • Research & Institutional Effectiveness
  • Security
  • Small Business Center
• Academic Support
  • Class Schedules
  • Developmental Education
  • Distance Learning
  • Financial Aid
  • Information Technology Services
  • Library
  • Regional High Technology Center
  • Student Handbook
  • Student Success Services
  • Teaching & Learning Center
  • TISS Roadmap to Success
• College Leadership
  • Board of Trustees
  • Office of the President
  • Policies & Procedures
• HCC Foundation
• Continuing Education

What does a job in cosmetology have in common with jobs such as an electronics technician, heavy equipment operator, auto service department manager, and shock trauma technician? Nothing, which is precisely what Haywood Community College student Mary Jenkins is looking forward to. Mary has always held jobs in predominately male fields and ironically, these jobs have never been outlets for creativity. Instead, they have been high pressure jobs.

And Mary is ready for a change. She learned this from her husband. He retired after 27 years in the military and is about to finish Basic Law Enforcement Training at HCC. “To see his excitement and see him change,” Mary explains, “has lit the fire in me. I have so much creativity that I had to find what I could do to pull it all out.”

Now, she has put her creativity to work in Cosmetology. “Since I started the program this fall, I have just come alive,” she says. “I could not be happier. Cosmetology challenges me in so many ways. For some people its okay to be able to do your job with your eyes shut. But it’s not for me.”

Mary has always loved challenges. The first time she returned to college to get a degree in Electronics, she was a single mother of two. That is one reason why she relates so well to her classmates today. “I have a different perspective on things that I can convey to younger students. I see them going through the same things I went through. I can encourage them,” she says. “And coming back to school…what a good example to set for your kids.”

Mary moved to the mountains a few months ago from the Outer Banks. She has participated in the Master Gardener program and she enjoys fishing.

“When I graduate, I will have a whole new life,” Mary says. “I could not be happier. I was not aware of all the opportunities that exist in this field until I came to HCC. There’s so much variety.”

Mary plans to start out in a salon to gain experience and then she may work in the film industry.

“There’s no better feeling than making people feel good about themselves. This field will allow me to do that,” Mary explains. “Every woman has something beautiful about them. To realize this can do amazing things for how they feel about themselves.”