Erika Wilhite
Published: December 7, 2005
Sheila Thomas will walk in December with honors, but this isn’t her first time at PJC. In 1970 she graduated from the college’s Adult High; now, 35 years later, Thomas has returned to pursue a new career.
Soon after finishing at the Adult High, Thomas got married and had three daughters. She worked a variety of jobs to help support her family.
“I did many different things,” Thomas said, “I worked at a Burger King, and at Krispy Kreme, but that was at midnight and I’m just not a night person. I drove a school bus for three years, after that, at Woodham [High School].”
“We owned the Coffee Cup restaurant, downtown, for six years,” Thomas added.
Earlier this spring, Thomas enrolled in PJC’s esthetics program, one of many vocational programs offered by the college.
“I started in April,” she said, “and I finished first in everything in the program; I went 30 hours over the requirement, I did 40 extra services.”
Thomas said that she received support for her decision to return to school and enter a new field of work.
“I’ve had my family and my church backing me all the way,” she said. “They’re very supportive.”
“At first I wanted to be a masseuse,” Thomas recalled, “but that’s so hard at my age, on the hands. [So] I decided to become an esthetician, and I’m glad I did. I really enjoy doing everything – the facials, the massage, the waxing. Everyone tells me that I have good hands.”
Thomas says her choice of career was heavily influenced by her love of people, and her desire to make a positive impact on the lives of those around her.
“I wanted to give of myself; it’s my mission, when I put my hands on people, to make them feel better,” she said.
Thomas recently returned from the International Dermal Institute in Atlanta where she became certified in manual lymph drainage.
She now works at Emerald Cuts Salon, and offers a variety of therapeutic treatments.
“I’m 53 years old,” Thomas said, “and I just thought that it was amazing that someone of my age is able to do something like this.”