“I live and breathe nails; the smell of nail polish gives me serotonin,” said Anna Lippert, a nail technician artist who graduated from NDA last year.

She also just graduated from the Academy of Beauty Professionals meaning she is now legally able to perform manicure services on paying customers.

Lippert has had a passion for doing nails since she was 15. “I thought salons were expensive, so I started doing them myself,” she said.

When she realized she was good at it, Lippert wanted to start taking it seriously. “One day I was doing my sister’s nails, and we were talking about my future. She suggested beauty school, and the same night I knew I wanted to go to the Academy of Beauty Professionals,” said Lippert.

She also said that her parents have always been supportive, so it was not hard to tell them about her decision. “We all knew I would never be happy at a desk job, so they thought this was a good route for me. Now, I can’t see myself doing anything else.”

But before that, she just started with a small business in high school and only did her friend’s nails, but she loved it, even though there were some second thoughts throughout her journey.

“All those meetings in high school about colleges made me feel bad I wasn’t going to a typical four year college,” she said. “But I now know it was 100% the right thing to do.”

Lippert loves being a nail technician. “I like that everything is small and precise; I love being creative and getting to do these tiny impossible designs,” she said.

She also loved her experience at the beauty school. “I knew it was right for me from the second I first toured it. Even though learning about infections was not the best, everything else the school has taught me helped so much, especially to open my own business” she said.

Now that she has graduated, Lippert will be working at “Crescent N’ Clover” where she will have her own section while running her own business called “Anna Rae Nails.’’

It will be open Monday through Saturday from nine to five, and it is located at 2913 Glendale Ave. There will be more information about it on her Instagram and on Etsy, in which the accounts are both called “Anna Rae Nails.”

“I love making the perfect nails to fit my customers’ visions which is why I can do almost any nails,” said Lippert. One thing she likes about her new job is that it is in Green Bay because she is “not quite ready to move out yet.”

Overall, Lippert has had a great journey. “For three years, I’ve kept working hard hoping I could achieve my dream of owning a nail salon, and now it has officially come true,” she said.

“I also love being my own boss,” she added. “I get to create art all day, and it’s awesome!”