Shellee Key, Brooke Middleton, Haley Bullard. 

These names might seem like ordinary names to the general population, but they are the names of the three women pioneering a new generation of cosmetologists. Future hairstylists, nail techs, and makeup artists are all being crafted by their leadership and guidance. There is so much precision, patience, and love that goes into what this trio of teachers manages to pull off day by day. 

Cosmetology classes teach more than just haircuts. They provide opportunities for students to study esthetics, makeup, nail classes and more. Each individual teacher has their own specialties and ways to teach new generations of students. 

Haley Bullard

Haley Bullard is the newest addition to the cosmetology staff. She has been in the cosmetology industry for 16 years now, with her specialty being esthetics, which are techniques used to improve the health and appearance of the skin. Before she started teaching, Bullard had many years of experience working in a salon. 

“This is my second year teaching Cosmetology. I love it. I have been in the Cosmetology industry over all for 16 years, but I have been around it my entire life. Before I came here, I was an esthetician for a few different salons,” Bullard said. “Getting to be a part of different salon families allowed me to get to meet so many wonderful people. I developed lifelong friendships with a lot of my clients and I am so grateful for that time.” 

Bullard’s mother, Pam Fox, founded the Cosmetology program and was the first to teach the subject on campus. Bullard had her mother as a teacher when she attended school and had the opportunity to learn under her. 

“Being a Joshua alumnus, I actually graduated from the Cosmetology program here myself. My mom (Pam Fox) was the first teacher here for the program at JHS,” Bullard said. “I was lucky enough to get to have her as my own teacher and get to learn from the best. Being able to see all that the program has grown to be is amazing. I love getting to be a part of something she started and carry on doing the same things she was able to do for her students all those years.”

Teaching Juniors is a very important aspect in Bullard’s craft. Juniors are preparing to take their state board exams the following year, so it is crucial that they get the proper education in order to thrive. Students are also learning new things in order to ensure that they are as prepared as possible for their exams. They start to take clients about halfway through the year, so Bullard trains them to work on real people as well.

Shellee Key

Shellee Key has been here teaching the longest out of the three. She currently teaches sophomores, who are in their first year of doing hands-on work. Prior to working here, Key taught Cosmetology at Hill College. She transferred over to the cosmetology department here and has been here ever since. 

“I was working in a shop, and subbing for cosmetology at the college. I was just kind of playing around with what I wanted to do,” Key said. “I was working at the college for a long time, then at Burleson to be closer to home and eventually landed at Joshua because they were right around the corner and had a great program.” 

Key teaches sophomores, so she really gets to see the very beginning of a blooming cosmetologist. Freshman students don’t tend to do a large amount of hands-on work, so sophomore students are truly learning each individual step for the first time. This includes learning the steps to do different haircuts, how to part hair and the process of coloring hair. 

“I teach sophomores and after Christmas, that spring semester, is my favorite,” Key said. “Students tend to be better at what they do and I don’t have to walk them through every little step. That’s when I really see students blossoming and growing,” 

Ever since Key started here, she has been a force in the program. Often she has a very eccentric and hands-on approach to teaching. Key takes her job very seriously, but students easily find out that she is also very connected to her students. When she isn’t in class teaching students the ins and outs of the salon world, she can be found with Mrs. Middleton and Mrs. Bullard. 

“We [Bullard, Middleton, and Key] are very close friends. I’ve known Mrs. Bullard since she was eight, and Mrs. Middleton started subbing for us and so we all just formed a very tight connection,” Key said. “Teaching these kids brought us together and our friendship really thrives off of it.”

Brooke Middleton

Brooke Middleton comes from a long line of cosmetologists. She has multiple family members who were in the industry and built her up to where she is now.

“ My family comes from a long line of cosmetologists. My Memaw did hair until she was 83,” Middleton said. “My aunt Sheila is still working at a Med Spa and she’s in her early 70s. She was also an instructor and it’s just something I’m passionate about and always wanted to do.” 

Being surrounded by work in the cosmetic industry led Middleton to where she is now. Middleton has been a part of the program for four years, with four years of college instructing prior to that. She has been a licensed cosmetologist for 20 years now and using said license to teach freshmen and seniors. 

“My favorite things to teach are hair color and haircutting because that’s my passion and what I’ve made money doing,” Middleton said. “I want to be the best that I can be because I know that I have young adults watching me every day. I hope that I teach them life skills and communication, along with being a good stylist.” 

Middleton has to prepare her Seniors for the big state board exam at the end of the year. Students have a written exam and a practical exam, where they have to prove what they know by performing what they have learned in front of licensing instructors. Middleton must ensure that every student taking the exams knows everything they have learned over the last three and a half years. They also take clients to work on so her students must balance state board preparation and clients all at once. 

“It can be daunting at the end of the year,” Middleton said. “We have a lot of testing and all the seniors have senioritis.”

Three is the magic number

Each cosmetology teacher has their own strengths to build them to be a great teacher. But, what a majority of people don’t know is that they are all friends outside of school. They have joined each other in FCCLA conferences, get dinner together after school on Friday nights, and can be usually seen in each other’s room during conference periods or downtime. This trio has truly incorporated their great friendship into being great teachers. 

“We have the best relationship and I feel like we are the BEST team,” Middleton said. “We work very hard and very well together.”