She ultimately used her beauty skills to pay her way through undergrad.

“I did hair and nails when I was at the University of California, Berkeley, and it was cool,” she said.

Unlike most college students who have to schedule their classes around their jobs, Green had the complete autonomy and flexibility to work and go to classes how she saw fit.

She eventually went to law school in Oklahoma, but her California beauty license didn’t transfer to the state until she provided the correct paperwork. The small stumbling block didn’t stop her, and she continued to style her client’s hair and nails while going through law school. Once she passed the bar, she stopped doing hair even though her heart remained within the beauty industry.

“A lot of my friends are in the beauty industry. One of my very best friends still does my hair. So beauty is always still kind of been there,” she said.

Green, however, credited her brother’s wisdom for pushing her to pursue her law degree.

“I was like, if I’m going to go to school, I’m going to go all the way and go be a lawyer. When I was at Berkeley, I ended up majoring in legal studies. So I don’t know what I would have done with the legal studies degree had I not continued with my education,” she said.

Reonna-Green

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