A Polk State College graduate who has turned her experience in business and education into an effort to help incarcerated women will soon have her work featured in a documentary.
Alisha Hinton, an Avon Park native and three-time Polk State graduate, teaches incarcerated women at the Polk County Jail how to braid hair, giving them a skill they may be able to use to find employment or start a business after their release.
Her work has now caught the attention of Emmy Award-winning actress, director, producer, journalist and podcast host Tamara Johnson. Hinton will be featured in a documentary filmed at the Polk County Jail focusing on her work with incarcerated women.
For Hinton, teaching hair braiding is about more than the skill itself.
“The most rewarding parts of entrepreneurship and working with families with my nonprofit are seeing the outcomes, seeing people feel good and gain confidence by their appearance and their skillset,” Hinton said. “To know how to do their child’s hair; to do their own hair; to take care of their clients.”
Hinton has styled hair for more than 25 years and has operated her business, Lisha Lou, in Mulberry since 2020. She is also the founder of Knot Your Average Academy, which helps families, including foster and adoptive parents, learn how to care for their children’s hair.
Her path has included several stops at Polk State College.
After initially attending the University of South Florida, Hinton moved closer to home and began attending what was then Polk Community College. She earned her Associate in Arts degree in 2008, returned for a Bachelor of Applied Science in Supervision and Management in 2012, and later earned a certificate through Polk State’s Educator Preparation Institute in 2020.
Hinton credited Polk State’s TRiO Program with helping her overcome some of the financial challenges she faced as a student. She said the program helped with expenses such as books, a laptop and other supplies while also providing academic support.
After completing the Educator Preparation Institute, Hinton briefly worked as a teacher at Mulberry Middle School and Lawton Chiles Middle School in Lakeland.
Although she eventually left the traditional classroom, teaching remained part of her life.
“Even though I’m not in the classroom, I’m in jail teaching,” Hinton said. “They come out encouraged and with a newfound confidence.”
Hinton said her experiences as an educator helped shape the way she works with incarcerated women, particularly by focusing on relationships and understanding the circumstances they may face outside the jail.
Her efforts to help others also extend beyond the jail. Through her business and nonprofit work, Hinton has collaborated with Lakeland Dream Center, Girls, Inc., Top Buttons and Dress for Success Tampa Bay. She also mentors other hair braiders who are interested in starting and growing their own businesses.
Polk State President Anastasios Kamoutsas said Hinton is an example of how education can create an impact beyond the classroom.
“Alisha is a wonderful example of how a Polk State education can become a catalyst for meaningful impact and engagement in the community,” Kamoutsas said.
Hinton encourages others who want to start a business or become more involved in their communities to begin with something manageable and build from there.
“For anyone seeking to start a business or do more in the community, just do it,” Hinton said. “It may seem like a big thing, but the picture can be very small, so take one step at a time.”
