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Community Profiles: Jaz Gill
Founder of Nu-Way Hairdressing Salons and Schools
Owner/Opertator of Nu-Way Beauty Salons (Surrey, Vancouver, Port Kells and Coquitlam)
Founder, operater and teacher, Nu-Way hairdressing and Esthetics Schools (Surrey, Vancouver, Richmond and Abbotsford)
Host of Vision TV ‘s ’Nava rasta, navi soch’
“Struggle is the key. Set high standards for yourself." |
Every girl in her pigtail-bobcut childhood must have clipped a lock of hair in front of the mirror, and definitely behind her mother’s back.
But few have taken those severed locks of hair and actually woven them into dreams of becoming hairstylists, or like Jaz not only become an ace hairdresser but open hairdressing schools and salons in nine different locations in Vancouver!
“I was five when my mother rebuked me severely after cutting a lock of my hair. She said, ‘Go! Become a barber!’ And I did,” recalls Jaz with a laugh.
This was in Chandigarh, India where Jaz, later at the age of 22 opened her first salon. After emigrating to Canada in 1988, she upgraded her diploma at the Penticton hairdressing School and soon opened her own salon in Surrey. Four years later in 1996, the first Nu-Way hairdressing school was born.
“I did not only want to make a success of myself but help others, especially new immigrants do som
ething with their lives,” says Jaz. Nuway held the distinction of being the first East Indian hairdressing school in BC where students learn the art of Mehndi application, East Indian Bridal makeup and other areas of beauty treatment in three different languages, Hindi, English and Punjabi.
| 10 years from now... | God willing, I will continue serving our community in canada and India. |
| I love (to)... | have new experiences, try new things, share thoughts |
| I dislike... | lazy people, liars and people who backbite. |
| Favourite haunt... | My room, where I relax, do Yoga, watch TV. |
| Favourite possession... | my kids. I love my daughter and son more than anything in this world. |
| I wish for Canada... | to prosper in every field as the years go by. |
Jaz now manages five salons and four schools in BC. Having helped more that 200 students so far to graduate (of the many more who just drop in for small courses), Jaz feels that she has adopted the spirit of her mother in more ways than one – “Not only did she inspire me but, but as a teacher herself nurtured the desire in me to help others explore the potential in themselves.”
Mother of a two, Jaz credits her husband Varinder of being another great support in her life: “I am lucky enough that my husband understands and has been at my side at all times.”
She passionately loves Bhangra dancing and yoga too. “I used to win dance awards at the university and whenever I can I dance the traditional ‘Bhangra’, now of course only at parties or weddings!”
She also hosts a TV program on Vision TV called “Nava Rasta Navi Soch” – a program exploring ‘new roads, new thoughts’ in society.
Her advice: “Decide what you want to do in your life. If you can feel motivated enough in yourself, you can be successful in any field of interest.”
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