Emma Taylor, a resident of Yellowknife, won the RBC Best of Region Award for the Northwest Territories and second place in hairstyling during Skills Canada competition in Winnipeg.
This would be the second year attending the competition, and the second year winning the award from RBC.
Over the course of two days on May 25 and 26, she competed in three different hair-related competitions, women’s updo, men’s cut and perm, and finally, women’s cut, color and style.
She added that in the last category, competitors weren’t allowed to use clippers or any electrical tools.
More than 550 students from all regions of Canada participated in more than 40 skilled trade and technology competitions.
She said that it was very fun, exciting but nerve wracking to compete. She felt confident since this was her second year doing it, she said, and she was more on the edge of her seat the year prior.
She said that the current year was easy in comparison.
“I felt very confident going into it knowing that I had been through it before,” she said.
She was happy that hairstyling was in the spotlight at Skills Canada.
“I feel like hairstyling is sometimes hidden below all the other trades that they do,” she said. “There’s so many other big trades like construction and electronic things, so having the highest marks in hairstyling really means a lot to me.”
She said that she has been passionate about hair growing up. She would experiment with many different hairstyles and cut her own hair from a very young age, she said.
She thanked two of her mentors at Skills Canada NWT, Blake Moulton and Andrea Pellerin.
“They supported me throughout the entire thing,” she said.
She said that she would have been more nervous throughout the competition if she did not have them.