Resilience, Dedication, and Success: Stylist Korah Lynn’s Journey with Sport Clips

Korah Lynn was only three months old when her parents left her with a teenage cousin and didn’t look back. She was later adopted by her great aunt, who she says instilled in her the values of resilience and dedication. She was raised around stylists, barbers, and hairdressers, and learned very early that this career was not just a job, but a legacy, and Korah’s path to become a stylist began to take shape.

Like many professional stylists, Korah began taking cosmetology classes when she was in high school, thanks to encouragement from her adoptive mom who was a master barber. Her plans were sidetracked temporarily in 2012 when she found out she was pregnant and was forced to leave her home because of her situation. She had no job, no source of income, no car, and no place to live. Facing uncertainty, she returned to school, determined to create a better future for herself and her future son.

When she was six months pregnant, Korah graduated from Delaware Learning Institute and earned her cosmetology license. She found a job at a haircut franchise and officially began her career as a stylist. When Mark, the local manager of Habitat for Humanity ReStore came in for a haircut, he encouraged her to apply for the homebuilding program, eventually filling out the application on her behalf. This was a turning point in Korah’s life. She split her time between working in the salon and helping build her home, which she purchased for herself just a few years later. She finally had a home to call her own.

In 2017, she became a manager at the Rehoboth Beach, Delaware Sport Clips location and was initially hesitant to work in a new setting but ultimately embraced the opportunity. Transitioning into a managerial role, Korah discovered a supportive community that felt more like home and family than coworkers. Under the guidance of supportive husband and wife team leaders (franchisees) Jeff Burroughs and Robyn Hanson, she embraced every opportunity they gave her to expand her skillset and knowledge of the industry. Korah shared, “I’ve never had a relationship with the people I’ve worked with before. I know that if I needed something, they would be there. And it’s the culture that we have created in this store because of the Sport Clips values.” The camaraderie and shared values fostered within Sport Clips created an environment where Korah thrived both personally and professionally.

Sport Clips is about the professionals behind the chair, their stories, and their success. Korah Lynn’s journey with Sport Clips is not just a tale of professional growth; it’s a testament to her unwavering commitment to excel and the transformative power of belief, resilience, and community. Through her story, she encourages others to see cosmetology as a rewarding lifelong career. She says, “Cosmetology was absolutely the best choice that I made back then. It seemed like such a little thing then, but without it I would never have met Mark. I would never have built my house. I would have never met Jeff and Robyn. Without this piece of paper [cosmetology license], my life could have taken a very different route.”

If you’re a stylist, you can learn more about pursuing a career path at your local Sport Clips. It may be just the home you’re looking for.