Arrowtown's D'or second-year apprentice Nicole Clark (30) was this month named the Hairdressing Industry Training Organisation (HITO) Southern South Island Apprentice of the Year and will head to Auckland next month for the finals, competing against one other South Island hairdresser and six from the North Island to be named the New Zealand Apprentice of the Year.
The award was not based solely on hairdressing skills, but recognised all-round excellence and achievement. Miss Clark was selected from 10 entries from the area south of Ashburton by judges HITO chief executive Erica Cumming, Flooring and Decorating ITO chief executive Greg Durkin and HITO ambassador Lyndsay Loveridge.
Ms Cumming said the judges were impressed with the variety and creativity of the applications and it was ''heartwarming to see the enthusiasm, passion and determination'' of the entrants. Other finalists in the Southern South Island category were Nicola Wilkinson, of Chocolatt in Wanaka, and Courtney Gaudion, of DeVine Hair and Beauty Spa in Gore.
Miss Clark began her apprenticeship last year after having ''a bad experience'' in a hair salon, after which she went home and ''whinged about it to my partner''.
''He said, 'Why don't you just do it?'
''A chance encounter with a D'or client led to an introduction to salon owner Rosemary Chalmers and her apprenticeship began.
To have achieved national recognition in her second year had not yet sunk in, she said.
''Rosemary really drives us with positive thinking, so the whole time it's not `if I win' but `when I win', [but] I was surprised.''
Regardless of the outcome in Auckland, Miss Clark will be featured in the HITO magazine, Forma, and take part in a two-day training workshop with 2012 New Zealand Hairdresser of the Year Mana Dave in February.
Colleague Chloe Meegan (22), who will sit her final hairdressing exams on Monday, will be honoured later this year, having been named the Southern Institute of Technology's top year 3 student from the Queenstown campus.
For Miss Meegan, the achievement was doubly impressive given a broken wrist meant she could not sit her year 2 practical exams last year. She finished them and her year 3 requirements with a day to spare.
Inspired by her mother, she chose hairdressing over a potential career in nursing, she said.
After receiving a cancer diagnosis, her mother began chemotherapy and had her hair shaved ''into a bright pink mohawk''.
''Her attitude changed completely and she decided to fight it [the cancer].
''Her attitude made me think hairdressing can change people's lives. I'm artistic and creative, but I wanted to do something to help her, as well.''
However, she credited the support of Mrs Chalmers and D'or manager Stacy McTaggart with her success to date - she was also named SIT's top first-year student from the Queenstown campus.
''I wouldn't be in this position if it wasn't for them and for this team.''
Mrs Chalmers said she was ''very proud'' of the achievements of both stylists, who had bright futures in the industry.
