Blytheville, Arkansas’ Tonya Osagie defies a slew of odds, resurrects her life with a loving husband and thriving business

MAKING HEADLINE NEWS RESURRECTION SUNDAY WEEKEND EXCLUSIVE 

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28 KJV)

Tonya Charmaine Osagie was a pretty darn good basketball player back in the day.

So much, in fact, that after having graduated from Blytheville (Arkansas) High School in 1987, she signed a National Letter of Intent the following year to play junior college hoops before ultimately transferring to Lane College in nearby Jackson, Tennessee.

That, according to Osagie, is where a series of “bad choices” were made.

“I got pregnant my sophomore year, which resulted in me not being able to complete my senior year in college,” Osagie told Making Headline News during a weekend interview.

After having vacated school unceremoniously and prematurely, financial adversity had eventually barricaded her desire to return and finish what she started.  

“My (student) loan went into default,” Osagie recalled.

As if those weren’t enough obstacles to shake and challenge her faith, Osagie’s infant child died at just six weeks of age.

“Upon having to come back home to Blytheville…no college degree, no child, it seemed like all hope was gone,” Osagie said.

To her credit and because of the Christian principles she was taught as a youngster growing up in the Natural State, Osagie knew that at the end of the real day, there was one pivotal thing on which she could always rely.

Her faith.

“I remembered my favorite passage of scripture,” said Osagie, alluding to Jeremiah 29:11 and reciting it as if it was a self-imposed rallying cry, of sorts.

Come to think of it, it really was.

“For I know the plans I have for you, plans of good and not of evil, to give you a hope and an expected end,” Osagie says every now and then.

Only this time, however, she customarily utters this scripture while flashing her signature smile, considering all things have surely worked together for her good.

“God sent (Bishop) Sunny Osagie (her husband) in my life, and I began to dream again,” Tonya Osagie said. “He asked me what did I want to pursue in life, and I told him I always dreamt of being a cosmetologist, and he told me to acquire the information for enrollment , and I haven’t looked back since.”

The rest, as they say, was history.

Today, Osagie — this vibrant, energetic, big-hearted woman of devout faith — has not only discovered her purpose but, much to her delight, she’s steadfastly walking in.

A native of Blytheville, Osagie is the proud Campus Director/Owner and featured Instructor at Phase 1 School Of Cosmetology, located at 220 West Main Street in her hometown.

“These events were the driving force behind my decision to become a hair stylist,” Osagie said.

And not just a hair stylist, but a fixture and beloved ambassador for Blytheville and the surrounding areas.

“My most favorable aspect of being a stylist, instructor, and school owner is far beyond just doing and teaching hair,” Osagie explained. “God always sends me an assignment through my students or clients.”

And because Osagie — with the unyielding support of her husband, a longtime minister — has appropriately obeyed the voice of God in this season, her business isn’t just an ordinary business. It also has become her ministry in many aspects.

“This field has taken me all over the country, traveling to different hair shows, networking with salon and school owners, to sponsoring and attending hair shows,” Osagie said. “It is my personal mission to share my testimony with those who come across my path that think that life has been unfair to them, to let them know that they are never counted out. If they can imagine it, they can achieve it.”

More than anything, Osagie is especially grateful to Sunny — whom, as a unique way to play off of words — has brought an array of Sunlight to her life.

“My inspiration has been fueled by my husband, Bishop Sunny Osagie, a native of Nigeria who came to this country with $20.00,” said Osagie, explaining in detail her companion’s setback-to-comeback story as only she could. “But through hard work and perseverance, has defied the odds and become very successful. I am also inspired by my mother, the late Paulette Hodges, a single divorcee, who had four small children. She worked relentlessly to ensure that we would have an opportunity to become and do whatever we set our minds to. She never relied on the system to take of us. She worked tirelessly to provide everything we needed.”

Interestingly, what Osagie — whose professional cosmetology career spans over 20 years and her instructing tenure more than 15 years — deems mostly refreshing is that God has sustained her for such a time as now.

For such a tear-jerking, joyous, jubilant time whereby all things undoubtedly have worked out for her good.

On June 9, Osagie has announced that Phase 1 School Of Cosmetology will be sponsoring its annual Hair Show in Blytheville at 6:30pm at the Ritz Theatre.

“It’s important for me to esteem others, because I’m that little girl from the ghetto who, by stigmatism, should have had a house full of babies, or been on or selling drugs,” Osagie said. “But success is a mindset, not a title. So I esteem to inspire by letting everyone I come in contact with know that your environment does not detect your future if you set goals.”

Now we know why she has not only discovered her purpose but, much to her delight, she’s steadfastly walking in.

EDITOR’S NOTE: If you are an entrepreneur, business owner, producer, author, athlete, musician, barber, life coach, motivational speaker, cosmetologist, tax preparer, model, or pastor/minister who is seeking exposure and would like to share your story with an in-depth news feature, call Reporter Andre Johnson at 901-690-6587 or Facebook message him under “Andre T. Johnson” for details.

Andre Johnson is Founder and Publisher for Making Headline News. A 2000 graduate of the University of Memphis School of Journalism and a former staff reporter the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper, Johnson covers the NBA Southwest Division from Dallas, Texas. To reach Johnson, send email to [email protected] or to [email protected]. Also, follow him on Twitter @AJ_Journalist.