Wednesday, June 18, 2025
When the ENL students of Oceanside High School arrived at From Head to Toe Salon for career exposure, they didn’t know they’d be getting their nails done.
Paula Baque moved from Colombia with no papers or English fluency, and now owns the salon, uplifting other bilingual community members. The high school’s work-based learning program is in its first year. The students who visited found Paula’s story an inspiring example of success.
So far, the class has exposed the students to learning flower arrangements at Flowers by Rachel, watching haircuts done by Brian Basile, the barber to star athletes, plus enjoying a speech from star wrestler Al Iaquinta, as well as volunteers for wildlife. In two weeks, an occupational therapist will give a presentation.
According to the class teacher, Iris Wiener, the class is a source for career awareness and learning how to behave in job interviews.
“And just learning what’s out there, what they can do if they don’t necessarily want to go to college,” Wiener said. “I’m just so proud of the program. I’m proud of the kids because they’re so open to learning new things.”
The students come from Colombia, Argentina, Ecuador, El Salvador, Peru and several other Spanish-speaking countries. Their favorite part of the day’s visit was getting their nails done, and they were all impressed by Baque’s story.
“I think it’s really empowering,” said Gabriela Tumbaco, a 12th grader. “Most of the time, especially for me, when I’m in such a bad point in my life, it’s kind of hard to climb out of that. From her story you can see that she really did, that she made a living for herself, and that she’s successful and she loves her life.”
Tumbaco wants to go into business for herself, possibly with her passion for make-up but with technology business as a longevity plan. Her classmate, 11th grader Ximara Guzman, finds herself inspired to get into each business the class exposes her to.
While Tumbaco learned English from a young age, Guzman didn’t start until later.
“Everything is very hard,” Guzman said. “When we come to another country, to hear that everything is new, the language is very hard to understand what other people say. I’m learning now how to speak, the accent, what is the wrong word or what is the right word.”
There are also benefits to being bilingual.
“I love the fact that I can actually help somebody that cannot express themselves or say what they need to say,” Baque said.
Laura Serrano Salas, an 11th grader in the class, agrees.
“It opens many doors in the future, where people or businesses speak a lot of languages,” Serrano Salas said. “You can have a relationship with other countries that speak other languages, so you can understand more people and cultures.”
Despite the long hours, Baque is very happy with the life she’s built for herself.
“The best thing about owning a salon is that I put in my own rules,” Baque said. “I can be very creative. I can come up with new things. It all depends on me. If I wanna do something, change something, incorporate something, I’m allowed to do it because it’s my own place.”
To Baque, giving back to the community is part of that joy.
“Because I was, a long time ago, in the same spot,” Baque said. “I needed someone to encourage me. I got a lot of people that were in my path, and they gave me ideas or they pushed me. Because of them, I am what I want right now. So I want other people to get far as well.”
Baque’s goals in life also include being an excellent example to her two children, both of whom went to or are currently in Oceanside High School. She gives her children the same advice she gave the students who visited.
