Iqaluit (July 07/03) - Elisapee Quassa just got her hair coloured with hints of purplish-burgundy red, and it looks striking on her.

Quassa, 49, is a mother of five, and a grandmother of four.

But she still has a youthful, adventurous personality that she says keeps her young inside.

It was that youthful vitality that convinced her after a few years cutting hair at Baffin Hair and Tanning Studio that what she really wanted was to go back to school and learn how to be a better hairdresser.

Now she is one of the first graduates of Nunavut Arctic College's hair styling program, and back working at the salon.

"I worked at daycare, as a cashier, I like meeting new people," said Quassa. But she really likes styling hair.

The transformation that takes place after a customer gets a simple hair cut or colour still amazes her.

She enjoys all the chatting and gossiping that happens in the stylists chair. She likes being the ear for her clients, and also finding out the news from all over Nunavut.

And she loves to watch the way her clients walk out the door. "They come out all proud," she said.

As a student in the six-month program Quassa never missed a day.

And even though all of them in the class -- experienced or not -- had their share of screw ups with the wrong relaxers and lotions, she learned enough through the course to feel more confident in her work today.

When it comes to hair styling and throwing a bit of colour into a head of jet black hair, Quassa just has one piece of advice: "Try it. You just might like it!"