As a way to generate some extra income, some students have created their own self-employment opportunities stemming from their best ideas or skills. Here are some ways seniors have made work for themselves on the side during their time at the University:

• Designing T-shirts and selling them

Ian Stone, Matt Lewis and Drake Grisham began HeadCoachTees, a small business that sells T-shirts with coaches’ faces on them.

Stone’s brother is a professional graphic designer, so he looked at the original shirt design after Stone told him what they were going for, and they finally settled on a design they liked.

“It wasn’t magical by any means,” said Stone, a senior majoring in communication studies.

Their office is in Stone’s garage, where the shirt inventory is located. Between classes, Stone said they’re packing shirts and driving to the post office. In January of 2018, HeadCoachTees became a legal business, and now they have signed contracts for use of likeness with five NFL players, one MLB player, and two more coaches to come that haven’t been announced yet.

Though Stone said they’re not the most professional guys, they saw this as an opportunity to make this their own business and do it their own way.

“The company means everything to me because I’ve always been interested in business, but I never really saw myself as a businessman, if you will,” he said.

Stone said they focus on incorporating their values and principles in the way they do business, so they donate 10 percent of every profit made from the shirt to the coach or player’s charitable organization of choice.

“We’ve learned so much,” Stone said. “I’ve learned more doing this than anything I’ve learned in class. I’ve learned a lot about life, learned a lot about business, a lot about staying true to who I am.”

Going forward, Stone said HeadCoachTees’ goal is to have coach Nick Saban’s face on their shirts.

HeadCoachTees can be found on Instagram at @headcoachtees.

• Doing alterations faster than most alterations shops

Mary Rives Drake, a senior majoring in apparel design, began tailoring clothes during her sophomore year at the University.

Drake’s alteration business began as means for helping her roommates and sorority sisters who were in need of alterations on their formal dresses faster than other alteration services in Tuscaloosa could offer.

“I’ve kind of turned my room into a little studio for people to bring me what they need altered and I usually can get their stuff finished within a couple of days, depending on what it is,” Drake said. “I’ve been sewing since I was in fourth grade, so a hem isn’t anything that’s too crazy for me to handle.”

Drake said one of the main benefits of her work is that she’s able to choose her own hours, which is a relief because it allows her to work around her class schedule every semester.

After taking a brief break last semester to focus on her academic responsibilities, Drake recently began offering her alteration services again.

“Right as I started back up again this semester, I had a girl come in with seven things, so that’s what I’ve been working on lately,” said Drake.  

Drake said her plans for the future are to graduate, then hopefully move to New York to pursue a career in the apparel design industry.

Drake’s services can be found at @maryrives on Instagram.

• Being a member of a band

Jackson Knight, a senior majoring in environmental engineering, is a member of the rock-oriented jam band, Hushpuppy Highway.

Knight plays bass with four other UA seniors at various bars and parties in Tuscaloosa.

“We all just kind of met each other through mutual friends,” Knight said. “We all played different instruments and were looking for other people to play with, so we got together with our mutual friends and jammed for a few months before we decided to keep this little group together that’s still going today.”

Hushpuppy Highway has been performing for the past year and a half after the members met each other two years ago, playing around one show per week.

“We had all wanted to be in a band in college, but we’d just never met the right people at the right time, so when we all got together, we clicked really well musically and got along as friends too,” Knight said.

While the money they earn from playing shows has been beneficial, Knight said money was not the main reason the band began playing together.

“The money was never really our starting motivation,” Knight said. “A couple of us had other jobs at the beginning, and once we started getting gigs pretty consistently, then we all figured out we can make pretty dang good money playing music together at bars, which is something we would really do for free just because it’s fun to get up and play in front of a live audience.”

Hushpuppy Highway posts about upcoming shows on its Instagram @hushpuppyhighway.

• Waxing eyebrows for cheaper than most salons

Two years ago, Ava Percynski, a senior majoring in mechanical engineering, began Brows by Ava, a facial waxing and cosmetic business.

Percynski started offering her facial waxing services in February of 2017, beginning as a friend helping another friend.

“One of my friends actually asked me if I could just tint her eyebrows because she wanted darker ones,” Percynski said. “When I posted the results of her before and after pictures, I got around 15 responses in like, two hours asking if I could do theirs, so it all kind of just blew up from there.”

Percynski said she bonded with her mother over their mutual interests in eyebrow modification and makeup. After gaining more attention for her eyebrow waxing services, Percynski’s mother invested in more equipment for her to pursue this business venture.

Since Brows by Ava has gained more customers, Percynski said she enjoys meeting new customers as well as the flexibility of choosing her own work hours for taking appointments.

“I really like having my own hours and I’m able to do it out of my bedroom, so it’s nice to be able to work around my school schedule and extracurricular activities, and I also just really enjoy meeting new people,” Percynski said.

Percynski’s Brows by Ava services can be found on Instagram at @browsbyava.

• Creating and selling artwork

Anne Smith Reeves, a senior majoring in studio art, is a young artist that has found success in selling her paintings.

Reeves was first asked by friends to paint simple things like coolers and tables. Later, word spread of her talents and requests came pouring in to commission Reeves for various paintings, which grew her confidence in her skills and led her to change her major from advertising to art.

“When more and more people started asking me to paint different things, I started realizing that I was pretty good at this and that it was something that I wanted to pursue, so that was when I changed my major to art,” Reeves said. “Ever since then, the classes that I’ve been taking here at Alabama have really been helping me get better at all types and forms of art and finding my own style.”

Since then, Reeves has received various requests for commissions from friends, family and pets paintings from students.

“I like to put my own spin on things, like when someone asks me to paint an album cover or to paint their dog or a picture of their family, they usually let me be free to put my own touch on it, so I really enjoy it,” Reeves said.

A taste for art is also part of Reeves’ family history. Her grandmother is a full-time artist and her mother is artistically talented as well, so she picked up an interest in art early in life that has only grown during her time at the University.

“Everyone at the University has been so supportive,” Reeves said. “Students are always asking me to paint things and help them design things, and I wouldn’t be painting as much as I am now if it wasn’t for the support from everybody.”

Reeves’ artwork can be requested at @asrart_annesmith on Instagram.