After death of father, Hilton Head high school grad looks ahead to cosmetology career
I’Zaria Singletary likes her coursework at the Beaufort-Jasper Academy for Career Excellence.
She likes it enough that she’s willing to ride the bus 40 minutes each way from Hilton Head to the Ridgeland campus each day.
Singletary studies cosmetology. Originally, she attended the two-year program while also attending Hilton Head Island High School with the intent of becoming a hairdresser.
Now, she plans on working as a waxer when she gets her state cosmetology license in the next few months. I’Zaria said it was “really hard” to keep up with the curriculum during the pandemic, especially trying to learn hands-on skills while the school year started virtually.
Between COVID-19 and the death of her father, Isaac Singletary, last year, she considered dropping out.
“But my dad, he wanted to see me graduate,” she said. “... I felt like I wasn’t the type to drop out of school even though I kept saying that to my mom. I just told myself to stay on top of my work.”
Singletary managed to balance school with her job as a cashier at Harris Teeter and her spot on Hilton Head Island High School’s track & field team, which she joined as a senior.
Hilton Head Island High School principal Steve Schidrich said I’Zaria was “dedicated to her work and very kind.”
“She will stick up for her friends and students that may not always stick up for themselves, and she does it with maturity and grace,” he wrote in her nomination as an outstanding senior.
At Thursday’s graduation, she decided to honor her father. She taped photos of Isaac Singletary to her mortarboard, along with a bedazzled message: “I made u proud dad.”