DECATUR, Ala. — This teacher we're about to meet exudes pure joy! Her calling is in the world of cosmetology; making people feel beautiful. Virtually everyone who knows her says it's the beauty in her that transcends her talent.
Meet this week's FOX54 Top Teacher from Career Academies of Decatur, Portia Houston!
Many people know Portia Houston for her bubbly personality, but as a beautician too. She’s put in some time as a dedicated cosmetologist. “Twenty-three years!,” said Houston. She's been at CAD since 2018.
Houston knew this was a talent from the very beginning. “This was my calling since I've been a little girl. I always want to play with the dolls and all that stuff."
However for Houston, becoming a beautician is more than helping feel beautiful on the outside, it’s the inside too. “You are psychiatrists, hair stylists, the friends, the sister, and sometimes the mama.”
Those are Mrs. Houston’s qualities. Just ask her colleague and Culinary Instructor, Darrell Echols. “She has a heart that's pure gold, right? And although she's the cosmetology instructor, she's a mom to everyone.”
“She's always giving. She's always bubbly, and she just draws students to her and everyone, not just students. She's like a magnet,” said Echols.
Houston is truly a magnet, because for Houston regardless of when students graduate, the connection never ends.
“It’s a lifetime relationship. Once they go on to their junior college or whatever, to private school to be a cosmetologist, I’ll forever be a mentor. I'll forever be there for them. I don't care where they go. They always call me and I'll be there for them,” said Houston tearfully.
Here’s another message she has for students. “You know, a lot of my students get ready to graduate and I just want them to invest in it and love it, and I want them to get all they can out of it. I talk to them all the time and take it seriously because this is a great career.”
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