A local high school student competed on the national stage in Aesthetics.

Northlands Parkway Collegiate student Miranda Klippenstein competed in the 24th Skills Canada Competition in Edmonton June 4 and 5.

She says it was an intense weekend of competition, tasked with completing a manicure, pedicure, full makeup and nail art for a panel of judges.

"It was lots of fun and it was lots of work, blood sweat and tears," she says.

The competition was especially fierce as the gold medal winner goes on to represent Canada at the World Skills competition in Russia.

However, while it was a gathering of the best Aesthetics students in the country, Klippenstein says there was plenty of camaraderie among the competitors. "We were all basically going through the same thing... we tried to help each other through the nerves."

While she didn't place, Klippenstein felt she was in the top half of the group, though representing her province and school was the true honour.

"It was a really good experience," she says, adding the Aesthetics program at NPC is a great opportunity for students to get a jumpstart in the industry.

"They grow so much from the day they start," teacher Brenda Richer says. "You train them, however it's their skill that gets them where they are."

Klippenstein notes she's already landed in a job at a spa after graduation.