by: ALEGRE DE PILIPINAS INTERNATIONAL
Mel Marquez worked her way up through the beauty industry, starting from the lowest position in a salon. She now leads a training school with campuses in General Santos City and Cubao. Her work centers on one idea. Beauty education should reach the people who need it, not only those who can afford it.
Who Is Mel Marquez?
Mel Marquez is a beauty educator, entrepreneur, and mentor. She grew up with limited resources and became a working student. That experience shaped how she sees learning. She treats knowledge as something to pass on rather than hold.
Her career began with a cleaning job in a salon. She later worked as a hair assistant. She saved enough to open a small salon inside a public market. As a young mother, she looked for work abroad to support her family.
Her first posting took her to Saudi Arabia. She later built a longer career in Kuwait, where she worked as a nail technician, a massage therapist, a CND brand ambassador, and a hotel recreation and spa manager. Each role added a different skill to her background.
Mel went on to work as an international beauty educator across the Middle East, Nepal, and the Philippines. The travel showed her a gap. Filipino beauty workers abroad rarely had access to current, industry-relevant beauty education. Many learned on the job and never received formal certification.
How Did Her Advocacy for OFWs Begin?
Mel started her advocacy work in Kuwait in 2013. She trained distressed Overseas Filipino Workers through the Philippine Embassy and the Philippine Overseas Labor Office. She worked alongside the Philippine labor officials posted there at the time.
She later served as Training Director of the AKO OFW Kuwait Chapter. Volunteers, friends, and her own children joined the effort. Together they ran livelihood training in beauty services, sewing, baking, and other income-generating skills.
The programs had a practical aim. Participants learned skills they could use to find work or start something small. The training continued through the pandemic, when many workers lost jobs and needed a way forward. The Department of Migrant Workers lists reintegration and livelihood support as a core service for returning OFWs. Community-led programs like Mel’s extend that work on the ground.
When Did the Academy Open?
Mel established the Mel Marquez Training Center in General Santos City on February 28, 2020. The center offered beauty education and hands-on practice for aspiring professionals in Mindanao.
The school expanded to Cubao on April 28, 2021, as Mel Marquez Beauty Academy Inc. The larger space allowed more students and broader programs. Free skills training for underserved communities remained part of the model.
What Does the Academy Teach?
Mel Marquez Beauty Academy Inc. delivers beauty education through practical, hands-on instruction. Nail services cover manicure, pedicure, and nail enhancements. Other programs include lash extensions, hair services, and massage.
The academy also runs free skills training for Filipinos with limited means, along with reintegration support for returning OFWs.
Technical skill is one part of the training. Mel places equal weight on confidence, discipline, professionalism, and work ethic. She prepares graduates for employment, self-employment, or a long career in the field. Students leave with practical experience and a clear view of their options.
What Guides the Academy?
The mission is direct. The academy provides industry-relevant beauty education that supports confidence, independence, and personal growth.
The vision looks outward. Mel wants to see more skilled and disciplined Filipino beauty professionals succeed at home and abroad while supporting their families and communities.
Two principles guide daily work. The first is “Your bright future starts here.” Mel believes a better future can begin with a single decision to learn. The second is “Learn. Grow. Pay it forward.” Students who receive an opportunity are encouraged to help someone else.
Service, perseverance, discipline, compassion, and continuous learning sit behind both.
How Does the Academy Define Success?
Mel does not count certificates. She looks at what students build afterward. Confidence. Steady work. A small business. A family supported. Those outcomes matter to her more than enrollment figures.
She describes success as watching a graduate move forward, then watching that graduate help someone else do the same.
How Can Organizations Partner With the Academy?
The academy is open to collaboration. Scholarships and sponsorships help students who cannot cover tuition. Community-based training brings free beauty education to areas with few options. Donated tools and equipment support hands-on practice.
Mel also welcomes employment and livelihood initiatives, OFW reintegration programs, mentorship arrangements, and corporate social responsibility projects. She works with government agencies, beauty brands, businesses, NGOs, and local communities.
Where Can People Find the Academy Online?
Students, partners, and organizations can reach the team through social media. The Mel Marquez Beauty Academy Inc. Facebook page carries training updates, student achievements, community programs, and announcements. Instagram and TikTok accounts run under the same name.
The pages give a practical look at how beauty education works at the academy from day to day.
Mel’s story follows a straight line. She cleaned salon floors, learned the trade, worked overseas, and brought what she learned back to Filipino students. Beauty education gave her a path out of limited circumstances. She now builds that same path for others.
For Mel, beauty education is more than a trade skill. It is a tool for independence. Her message to students stays simple. Beauty education starts with one decision.
