Award-winning make-up artist Jane Truong found her calling as a make-up teacher at Chisholm. Here’s her story.

What do you do when you love being a make-up artist, but you also like working with people from all walks of life in a group setting?

Simple: you become a make-up educator!

For Jane Truong, becoming a make-up teacher at Chisholm allowed her to have the best of both worlds.

“Teaching make-up combines my two passions,” she says. “I get to work with make-up and with a diverse range of people.”

Even as a little girl, Jane always loved make-up. She vividly remembers watching her mum doing her make-up, and the thrill of when she first got her hands on a make-up product.

“I was in grade 5, and I’d always carry around my pink frosted eyeshadow and put it on,” says Jane, with a giggle. “I eventually migrated to black eyeliner, then it just full blew out from there.”

Coming from a strict upbringing, Jane felt an obligation to go to university, so after high school she studied psychology.

At the same time, Jane completed a short make-up course and worked on make-up counters and as a freelancer.

After finishing her psychology degree with honours, Jane got a job in a boutique organisational psychology firm, but eventually decided to follow her heart and enrol in a make-up diploma as a mature-aged student.

In 2017, she joined Chisholm as a make-up educator, and the rest is history.

“What I love about Chisholm is the diversity and the teamwork,” Jane says. “We have a really tight-knit team. We always work together when dealing with student issues and course resources, and I love my colleagues.”

Jane’s work is challenging and rewarding – just the way she likes it. She works with students from all different backgrounds, both culturally and education-wise.

“For some students, English is a second language, or they may have learning difficulties, so we really work hard to get them to understand what we are delivering so that they feel more confident in themselves and their make-up skills. It’s very inclusive.”

Jane goes above and beyond to make her students feel included, whether that be by using more visual teaching aids or doing extra support sessions after class.

Likewise, if students have learning difficulties, she adjusts the delivery method to accommodate their learning needs.

It’s for those reasons and more that Jane received a Chisholm Star GEM (going the extra mile) award at Chisholm, and was also nominated as Educator of the Year at the Chisholm Education Awards.

“I love being able to make a difference whichever way I can,” Jane says. “Seeing my students blossom is what I find so rewarding.”

In addition to teaching three days a week, Jane still works as a make-up artist and loves sharing her real-world industry experience with students.

She’s had some incredible career highlights, like being flown to Venice for a bridal gig, having her work featured in publications such as Cosmopolitan Bride, and being named Australian Bridal & Formal Make-up Artist of the Year at the Australian Make-up Industry Awards.

Jane says she is so happy to have found the perfect balance between teaching and working in the industry.

“I feel as though I’m living my dream because I love what I do so much,” says Jane. “I can’t imagine doing anything else. Wherever that takes me, I’m just so happy to be doing what I’m doing.”