Dora F. Kwak(I)

Dora Kwak, began her career in cosmetology in the mid 1970s. She first attended John Amico School of hair design, graduated and immediately opened a hair salon in Oak Forest Illinois. Less then a year after opening her salon it was destroyed by a fire, everything she had worked for was gone including her confidence.

Dora left the profession and focused on raising her family and working a 9 - 5 job, she began by simply working as a customer service representative and within a year became the customer service manager of the Midwest region including Illinois,Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin of a well known appliance center.

As the years passed she had a strong feeling that something was missing, At the age of 55 her children grown and a grandmother, she decided that it was time for her to go after her dreams, she walked into the Paul Mitchell school of hair design and walked out,telling herself that she was crazy, she was to old. A few days later she went back, she had decided that since it had been over 20 years since she had left the profession she would register to take the full program all over. While in school she became a member of the " BE NICE OR ELSE " group, member of the Student Council, a member of the Design team and was often called upon to attend community functions as an ambassador for the school. Wynn Claybough co owner of the Paul Mitchell Schools received letters from students and clients about Dora and suggested that he get to know her. Gail Fink editor of the Be nice or Else newsletter interviewed Dora and wrote an article about her and published it in the newsletter. Dora and Wynn remain close friends and Dora regards him as her mentor.

After graduation she worked in a salon in Watseka Illinois and continued to work on perfecting her skills and developing a client base. While employed at the salon her career was quickly taking a different path, she was asked to be the department chairperson for the Kankakee valley theaters production of Alice in wonderland, to be the hair and makeup team for the " Twilight Convention" held in Chicago, worked on a film directed by John Brandt and was asked to be a Judge at the National American Elegance Competition. She left the salon in 2012 and went back to school to earn her teachers certification, while in school she was asked to be the department head for Director John Hancocks film Swan Song, after finishing that project she went immediately onto another film directed by John Brandt. After taking a 3 month leave of absence from school she went back to school full time and worked on films on the weekend or in the evening. While studying for her teachers certification,she thought she wanted to be a classroom instructor, but soon realized that was not her future, her classroom was to be behind the scenes working on movies and television shows. When projects come up, she asks students who show an interest to come along on projects and work alongside our senior team members to see if this is something that they really want to do, if it is.. then she will work with them to help them develop their skills and reach their dream, she works hard to open doors for those that are passionate, to give them experience and to teach them what it means to be a professional. She is often heard saying that it is not her job to make them as good as she is..it is her job to make them better then she is.

Dora has a true love and passion for the film and television industry,especially independent filmmakers. Her goal is to help bring their vision to life. She goes above and beyond to ensure that every project receives the absolute best of her ability from beginning to end.