Cosmetology Student Success Story: Isabela Osorio

About Isabela Osorio

It started with her dolls. Isabela Osorio was the little girl who could not leave their hair alone, snipping and styling them the same way she watched her older sisters fix their own. She was fascinated by all of it. The ritual, the transformation, the way a finished look could shift how someone walked into a room.

But for a long time, she held a complicated relationship with beauty. She had told herself it was performative, something people used to cover up who they really were. That idea started to crack the more she actually did hair and makeup. She began to see something different: not a mask, but art. A way of drawing out what was already there in the person sitting in front of her. “When I rewired my mindset and started seeing beauty differently, my love for it became so much richer and deeper,” she says. That shift changed everything.

Isabela grew up homeschooled, a choice her parents made during the pandemic and continued long after schools reopened. With that flexibility, she buckled down and graduated a full year early. She enrolled at EBC’s Mount Vernon campus in February of what would have been her senior year of high school. Outside of beauty, she is a volleyball player still competing in recreational and organized leagues, a pianist, and someone who has performed in choir and played in a band with her closest friends. She has always been drawn to things that challenge her, push her creativity, and connect her to people. EBC felt like the place where all of that could come together.

The Evergreen Experience

Ask Isabela about foiling and she will tell you she almost dismissed it before she even tried it. It sounded repetitive. The same motion, over and over. What she found instead was something almost meditative. “You are weaving and taking individual strands of someone’s hair, paying so much attention to the tiniest details, and creating something that is completely personalized to them,” she says. That level of care and precision turned out to be exactly what draws her in. She also loves styling for the opposite reason: the reveal. That is the moment clients finally see what she has been building, and the smile that follows is what she calls genuinely priceless.

Honey Blonde Hair by Isabela

What Isabela will tell you is that EBC felt different before she even walked through the door. From the moment she was enrolling, something stood out. “The encouragement and excitement I received made me feel like they truly wanted me there,” she says. “It was more than just choosing a school. It felt like choosing a place where people believed in me and wanted to help me succeed.” That sense of being genuinely seen and supported has carried through every part of her training. EBC challenged her to grow, gave her the tools to become better, and surrounded her with instructors and peers who showed up for each other. The confidence she has gained as her skills have developed has been just as meaningful as any technique she has learned. Being around people who share the same passion has reminded her she is exactly where she is supposed to be.

When clients sit down with Isabela, they are not just getting someone skilled with a foil. They are getting someone who genuinely wants to know the person in her chair. “I don’t want to just be their hairdresser; I want to be the girl next door,” she says. The person they feel comfortable with, trust completely, and can be fully themselves around. She believes beauty does not fall into one category, and she wants every client regardless of their shade, shape, hair texture, or background to leave her chair feeling like the beauty that was already there got to show up a little more that day.

The Next Step

After graduation, Isabela plans to work in a salon for a year or two, building her confidence and absorbing everything she can about the industry up close. From there, she wants to move into booth renting and build a clientele made up of real, lasting relationships. And further down the road? Her own salon. Maybe more than one.

Jet Black Hair by Isabela

The vision does not stop there. Isabela is deeply interested in the business side of beauty, from collaborating with brands to participating in shows and events where she can showcase her creativity. She also has her eye on eventually creating her own hair care and makeup line. She is not just thinking about becoming a great stylist. She is thinking about building something.

Her advice to anyone thinking about enrolling at EBC is direct and honest: “School is what you make it. We all have access to the same information, but your hard work, dedication, and willingness to have an open mind are what will make you stand out.” And to anyone who feels nervous about starting: “Give yourself grace, trust the process, and know that you’ve got this.”

Isabela Osorio is expected to graduate from EBC’s Mount Vernon campus in April 2027. Follow her work on Instagram at @hair_by.isabela. This dream has been budding for years. It is very much in bloom.

If you are interested in pursuing a career in the beauty industry, check out our Cosmetology program or Schedule a Virtual Tour at one of our campuses: Bellingham, Mount Vernon, Everett, North Seattle, Renton, Olympia, and Yakima.