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MONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2012 dents because Independent Beauty Consultants make their own hours and get half of all their sales. Flores spends an hour or less on Mary Kay-related work every day. “I get to make my own schedule and be my own boss and with that I have more time for my family and school work,” said Flores. Roberts agreed. “I have been able to pay for PBA without having to miss out on very much unlike my friends who always have to work,” said Roberts. Roberts became a Mary Kay director in the top two percent of the company, becoming the youngest director in the national area at age 18. Roberts had been interested in Mary Kay since the eighth grade when she learned about the company at a career fair. The Miami native has been a consultant for a By Kayla Viaud Staff Writer Evelyn Flores, a freshman at Palm Beach Atlantic University, recently hosted a Mary Kay party for the girls in her Baxter dorm. At a typical Mary Kay party, customers are given the chance to try Mary Kay products before purchasing them. Products include foundation, lipstick, blush, various eye shadows and mascara. Flores said her goal when hosting a party is to help the girls to feel confident in their own skin. According to Mary Kay, more than 36 percent of new independent beauty consultants in 2012 are from the Gen Y (18- to 30-year-olds) age group. Flores and Mary Roberts, a sophomore at PBA, see Mary Kay, a cosmetics company, as a way to earn extra cash. Flores has been an independent
beauty consultant for five months. The company was started by Mary Kay Ash in 1965. Its motto is, “God first, family second, career third.” “What helped me make my final decision is Mary Kay’s motto,” Flores, a freshman from Port Saint Lucie, Fla., said about joining the company. Flores says getting started in Mary Kay was a tough decision at first because she knew she would have to invest her money into it. “I had always loved the products but becoming part of the team actually never really crossed my mind,” Flores said. Consultants buy a starter kit for $100 which includes product samples. Also, there are no quotas, or minimum amount that must be sold. Flores has 25 regular customers in her hometown of Port Saint Lucie and has found customers in West Palm Beach. Mary Kay is appealing to stu-
year and a half. Mary Kay offers many perks to consultants including luggage sets, heels and jewelry. Roberts earned a 2012 Chevy Malibu. Through Mary Kay, Roberts has traveled to Dallas, Atlanta and Sanibel, Fla. For Roberts, much of her success at Mary Kay can be attributed to God. “Too often, we think too small of what God can possibly do because we put our limits of what we can do on God,” Roberts said. “If God has called you to do something, he will provide, but you can’t sit on your couch and wait, when He has already called you to act. “I love how Mary Kay has been a huge vehicle for outreach in ministry because when I’m a CityPlace, I can start up a conversation with someone and trade
business cards so that can continue to talk and my prayer is for a chance to share the Gospel with them,” Roberts continued. Last week, Roberts stepped down from her position as the youngest director and turned in the keys to her car so that she can go to Africa wholeheartedly for the Lord. Roberts says her heart breaks for those who live on less than a dollar a day and less than 2 percent are Christian, while Americans have such luxury, excess, and access to so much. “I have learned so much in Mary Kay and will still be a consultant so I can share the opportunity to make a difference in other people’s lives and still supply people with product,” Roberts said. “My goal is for them to feel loved and beautiful, prayerfully with a chance to share Jesus with them.”
PHOTO BY CHELSAE ANNE HORTON
Inside the beauty business: Sophomore Mary Roberts earned a 2012 Chevy Malibu as a perk for selling Mary Kay after becoming a director at age 18.
An editor’s farewell By Chris Hernandez Managing Editor There was a moment during my sophomore year at Palm Beach Atlantic University when I didn’t want to be a journalism major anymore. As I took more ministry classes, I thought for a small moment that God wanted me to become a pastor. Besides, I was getting the feeling that the only way to be successful in the journalism industry was to step on other people’s toes. I just couldn’t. I love people too much. So, I prematurely left my position as opinion editor (yes, an opinion section used to exist) and went home for the summer. I was reading John Ortberg’s “Faith and Doubt” when I felt God tell me to go back to journalism. I remember having a dream where I was hanging out with a group of homeless guys and audibly God said, “Tell their stories.” When I woke up, confirmation came through the illustrations present in Ortberg’s book. He used an illustration about a pastor who traveled and would give sermons about people in carnivals. I began to see that my favorite part of watching someone speak is the stories that person told. If the stories told were about
actual people who did amazing things that the pastor met, the pastor would definitiely have my attention. With that in mind, I felt God wanted me to write the stories of all kinds of people. I feel there is so much of God that I can’t find on my own when I explore His diversity in others. It’s like God transforms from a simple looking glass to a complex kaliedoscope. So, maybe one day God will call me to be a pastor, but, for now, I am enjoying exploring the many facets of his kaliedoscope. At the moment, the journey of learning about God’s people has already been extraordinary. I have had the opportunity to interview longboarders, musicians, bestsellers, breast cancer survivors, zombies and pastors. I would have to say that my most memorable piece, with exception of my pieces on Gaga, has been the work I have been able to do with the PBA’s student veterans. Last semester, I got to interview a guy as rain dripped in from a leaky ceiling over pizza. He had suffered injuries defending our country. After that moment, I look at everyone around me in a new light. The most average person sitting by him or herself outside of Einstein’s can be one of the most ex-
traordinary people you have met. I hope that you have taken at least that from my past three semesters leading the Beacon, especially with this semester. The best compliment I got was someone telling me that they were excited to see people they know on the covers and that it was cool to see us encompassing every different kind of person. It’s great to place Beacons out on a table and see how, no matter where we come from or what interests us, we can all love each other and respect those differences as brothers and sisters in Christ. In a way, it has helped me accept the complex personality that I am. I can’t fit in a box and actually no one can since we are all uniquely created to serve His kingdom. Although I will miss my Beacon family, I know it’s time for me to move on to the next thing God has in store. The next set of people God will have change my life. As I step into the journalism field, I am reminded of something a wise professor once told me, “Some people have to claw their way to the top, but some people get there by doing their job and doing it the best.” And that’s what I plan to do.
PHOTO BY CHELSAE ANNE HORTON
Chris Hernandez: I can’t fit in a box and actually no one can since we are all uniquely created to serve His kingdom.