(EL PASO INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT – September 22, 2026) — Tucked away in a West El Paso shopping complex, Chéri Nails and Spa (5411 N. Mesa St.) offers an immediate sense of luxury and comfort. Guests walking through the doors are warmly greeted and offered refreshing drinks, setting a relaxing tone for the services to come. But behind the serene atmosphere of this thriving business lies a deeper community connection. The salon is proudly owned and operated by brother-and-sister duo Elizabeth Wyant and Arturo Amaro, both graduates of El Paso ISD’s Franklin High School.
The siblings' paths to entrepreneurship were anything but linear. Wyant’s journey began in El Paso ISD’s Center for Career and Technology Education (CCTE), a program designed to equip high school students with real-world professional skills. Hoping to learn more about makeup, Wyant enrolled in CCTE’s two-year cosmetology program, gaining comprehensive expertise in hair, facials, and nails. After high school, she pursued a journalism degree at the University of Texas at El Paso, doing nails as a side hustle, before moving to South Korea to study abroad. She eventually returned to the Sun City bringing new international techniques.
Feeling professionally unfulfilled, she pivoted back to her true passion: the nail industry. Encouraged by her brother, Amaro, the siblings teamed up and opened the shop. Today, Wyant spearheads the creative vision for Chéri Nails and Spa, while Amaro manages the business operations.
Yet, Chéri Nails and Spa is not just a standard business success story. Wyant and Amaro are actively using their platform to give back to the very district that launched their careers, intentionally recruiting from El Paso ISD to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs.
“We’ve hired about 12 former CCTE students,” Wyant noted. “Right now, I am doing what I did at CCTE which is cosmetology. I think that CCTE is such a great program for students to help learn a new skill before they go out into the real world.”
For Amaro, the mission is equally clear: “I wanted to hire students barely coming out of school and to give them the opportunity to grow and offering a stable working environment, and not only that, but give back to CCTE who helped my sister.”
The impact of this full-circle hiring approach resonates deeply with their staff. Victoria Alvarado, an El Paso High School alumna and current employee, found her way to the salon after Wyant returned to CCTE as a guest speaker. “Elizabeth went to CCTE and she gave us a presentation and talked about her salon just opening up and I was really interested to learn more,” Alvarado shared.
For Camila Hernandez, another El Paso High School alumna and employee, Wyant’s shared background provided crucial reassurance as she entered the workforce. “I think it helps that she went to CCTE because it’s like, ‘Hey she went through the same thing that I did,’ and it just made me feel a little more comfortable because I have never had actual work experience in this field, and it just made me feel comfortable knowing she went through the exact same thing,” Hernandez explained.
The supportive environment has even shifted Hernandez's own long-term goals. “I’ve always thought about being a teacher, and I’ve always thought I would teach at an elementary school, and now when I think about teaching, I would do it at CCTE.”
This commitment to lifting others up perfectly captures the El Paso ISD spirit, graduating, gaining worldly experience, and returning home to invest in the local community and the next generation of professionals.
“CCTE gave me the opportunity to learn a new skill and truly explore the possibilities out there,” Wyant said. “For students trying to figure out their next steps after high school, CCTE is a bridge to the future. It gives them the professional training and certification they need to step out into the real world with confidence.”
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