ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – A local barber named Gerald Wilkerson has been styling hair for more than 20 years in Abilene. However, he is now making an impact in a new role as a part-time barber and full-time college advisor at Cooper High School, where he helps students shape their futures.

“Having an opportunity to service some of those kids who were getting haircuts physically as young children, and now I’m being in a position to help them further their academic career, it just lends itself to that initial phrase, ‘time to get you head right,’” Wilkerson said.

His father was a barber, and his mother was a teacher. Wilkerson combined both their occupations, continuing the family legacy. For him, cutting hair was a preparation for the school setting.

“Working in a barber shop, dealing with all walks of life, and having to refrain from being judgemental prepared me to go into the school setting. There are students dealing with all types of things, but everybody, at the end of the day, is trying to do better than where they currently are,” Wilkerson shared.

Wilkerson is a member of C.O.O.L., an organization that seeks to teach students about college and career opportunities. He aims to motivate his students about their future, seeing a reflection of himself in them.

“I tell a lot of them that the version of me that you see now is because of a lot of obstacles and hardships. When I see them, and they say, ‘I can’t do it,’ or they may have a hiccup that they come across, then I can reach them in different layers. I can say to them I’ve experienced that, or I understand,” Wilkerson said.

Wilkerson stated that he will forever treasure the community that formed within his barber chair.

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