When eighth grader Daphne Bergal sat down to choose a career for her semester-long project in the Bayfield Middle School Career Explorations class, she didn’t have to think very long. She already knew what she loved doing.
“I want to do nails and hair,” she said confidently. “I’ve been doing my own nails, and I’ve done my little sister’s too. I’ve always kind of liked it.”
For Daphne, what began as a hobby — painting designs on her own hands and experimenting with colors and patterns — quickly grew into something more meaningful. A friend’s connection to someone in cosmetology school gave her an extra spark of inspiration, and the gift of a nail kit last Christmas helped her dive deeper.
Her mom has long done her own nails, she said, “but she kind of just paints, and I’m more into designs.”
Daphne practices constantly — on herself, on her five-year-old sister (“she has little nails, but I still practice on her”), and on a set of stand-mounted practice nails she keeps at home. She’s gotten better at polka dots, wants to master French tips, and admits with a grin that stripes are still a challenge.
“I’ll just practice a lot,” she said.
Even before the class required her to select a career to research, Daphne was already teaching herself the foundations of nail art. The course simply gave her the structure — and the confidence — to turn interest into a plan.
From Hobby to Career Plan
As part of the program’s eighth-grade curriculum, students investigate the training needed for their chosen field, the costs of schooling, the expected salary, and the types of work environments they can expect. Daphne approached it like a professional.
“I looked into what school I want to go to, and how much it will cost,” she said. “It helped me because the research let me know more about it — like how much I’ll make and how much it costs to get into school.”
“If I want to do full-time and put all of my effort into it, I can do school in a year,” she predicted.
Her passion is no surprise to Bayfield Middle School Counselor Nicole Machallister, who works closely with students as they develop their career presentations and prepare for their interviews.
“When she talks about her nails, she just lights up,” Machallister said. “She is passionate about it, and she is talented.”
Machallister said Daphne’s path is a strong example of how the Career Explorations program helps students connect their interests to real-world opportunities.
“This class started as kids just exploring an interest, and it can lead to a kid starting a business,” she said. “Our platform here is that you don’t know what you're doing, so don’t let any doors close. Figure out what you’re passionate about, and if you can link that to a career, it just makes life better.”
Building Confidence Through Real Experiences
The eighth graders’ end-of-semester projects include a formal presentation to an audience — this year, that included visiting fifth graders — followed by a mock job interview conducted by community members who score students using a professional rubric.
Daphne’s presentation walked viewers through the path she plans to take: earn her high school diploma, enroll in a cosmetology program, and build the skills necessary to specialize in nail art. She shared schooling options, tuition information, and a realistic picture of what working in a salon is like.
“The most asked question was what the working environment looks like,” she said. “I said busy and productive.”
Machallister noted that the interview experience is especially powerful.
“Today she is doing her interview for a nail tech job,” she said. “The panel of interviewers will give her the experience of trying to be in the salon or being added to the team.”
Some eighth graders, she added, have even said they want to apply for real jobs — but only after completing their mock interview.
“They were nervous last week when they had to go talk to 5th graders,” Machallister described. “But pretty soon they were all just hanging out and chatting.”
A Young Artist Finding Her Path
Between volleyball games, basketball practices, schoolwork, and time with friends, Daphne scrolls through nail designs online in her free time and tries out new patterns or techniques at home.
Her parents support her fully, and they were especially thrilled to see how thoroughly she approached the project. The family connection to this field also runs deeper than her mom’s interest in nail painting. Her dad’s parents own a hair salon in the Durango Mall, giving Daphne another glimpse into the field she hopes to join.
Perhaps most importantly, she’s already building the most essential foundation of all: confidence. Machallister thinks that self-belief is the heart of the program.
“We are trying to make middle school meaningful and relevant,” she said. “They have some choices — they’re on a path. They get to figure out what they want to do, instead of somebody telling them, ‘I think you ought to do this.’”
