Even years after winning the Miss Black USA pageant in 1990, Clarissa Lester Kenty still looks like a beauty queen, outfitted with a million-dollar smile, poise and pumps. She admits, however, that she wasn’t always polished. Long before winning the pageant, a woman who owned an etiquette school had to teach Kenty how to smooth out her rough edges.
“She would pull me aside at least two to three times a week,” Kenty says. “She planted more than skills in me, she planted a seed.”
That seed is now reaping a harvest years later through Kenty and the hundreds of children and adults she teaches as the owner of Divine Images Finishing Institute. It is a charm school that offers classes and hosts conferences to equip students with the social skills and graces they need to generate confidence.
“Etiquette is a lost art,” Kenty says, adding that it was something grandparents were sticklers about and taught in the home, but nowadays, with both parents working, the focus is gone. She says those social skills come in handy not only when you are at a fancy restaurant, but on job interviews as well.
“Most of us will be in situations where (etiquette) will be expected of us,” she says. “It is expected, but seldom taught.”
Kenty teaches everything from self-esteem building to image consulting, fine dining and more. As a Christian, she sees this as her ministry of sort as she helps people better.
In addition to getting her expertise in the art of etiquette, Kenty also worked in secondary education for 15 years. It was there she saw scores of wide-eyed freshmen fall prey to social ills they weren’t prepared to handle. “There are basic stumbling blocks that will hinder them,” she says of the young adults. “They are going from dependent to independent.”
She wants to help incoming college students make a mental shift before they jump into college life and on July 24, Divine Images hosted The S.H.I.F.T. (Students Having Information For Transition) Conference, Ladies Edition. Kenty and a panel of experts gave young women the skills they need to successfully transition from high school to college.
They learned the basics on health and fitness, campus safety, travel, finances, and time management. The young women also heard a speech from a motivational speaker whose goal was to inspire them as they begin this new chapter of their life.
Whether preparing for college or a meeting with a CEO, Kenty says it never hurts to polish up on your etiquette. “You never have a second chance to make a first impression,” she says.
For more information about Kenty and Divine Images, call 205-504-2368 or go to the web site at www.difinishinginstitute.us.