Hairdressing more than a qualification for Krystal

For award winner Krystal Marie Lunny, completing her hairdressing apprenticeship represents much more than a framed qualification on her wall.

An achievement 20 years in the making and reached despite countless obstacles that would prove too much for many others, Krystal’s trade qualification represents her commitment to build a stable, positive future for her daughters, teaching them the power of determination.

Brisbane-based Krystal was crowned Equity Student of the Year at the 2026 Queensland Training Awards, an award recognising a student who has demonstrated outstanding achievement in overcoming a significant barrier or disadvantage to effectively participate in vocational education and training.

Krystal suffered a setback in her apprenticeship journey when a high-speed motorcycle accident in Western Australia left her with serious injuries that required an extended stay in hospital, multiple surgeries and intensive rehabilitation.

The physical and emotional challenges of rebuilding her strength were immense, having to learn to walk again twice as she worked towards a beckoning hairdressing career that required full days on her feet.

Meanwhile, Krystal was rebuilding her home life raising three daughters as a single mother leaving a domestic violence situation and relocating from Perth to Brisbane.

Starting her apprenticeship under the mentorship of Kirtus Murdock, Krystal began rebuilding her career and finding her confidence again. Today, that journey has come full circle, with Krystal working alongside Kirtus Murdock and Kyanne Bismarck at K Studio Collective.

“I remember feeling incredibly vulnerable and unsure of who I was anymore, let alone whether I would ever be capable of building the career I had dreamed about for so many years,” Krystal said.

“But Kirtus looked beyond all of that. He didn’t see someone broken — he saw someone determined. He gave me a chance when I felt like the world had taken so much away from me. That moment of belief will stay with me forever.”

“There were days during my apprenticeship when the physical pain and exhaustion were overwhelming. Standing for long hours while my body was still healing was incredibly difficult but knowing someone believed in me made it easier to take one more step forward.”

“Above everything else, my three daughters were my reason to keep going. As a single mother raising three young girls after escaping domestic violence, I knew I had to keep fighting for a better future for them. On the hardest nights, when I felt broken and overwhelmed, I would look at them and remind myself why I couldn’t give up.”

A training journey which first began at age 15 and has covered 20 years of Krystal’s life, hairdressing has been by her side through everything.

“Hairdressing built me, it was there for me from the get-go, it was with me through being a teen mum, it was with me through my domestic violence relationship, it was with me through my recovery learning to walk again. Hairdressing’s always been something I’ve come back to and that’s why it’s important to me.”

Qualified and living out her career dream, Krystal unfortunately received the news that her physical recovery had stalled and would not progress to the necessary level to continue working on her feet full-time.

“After everything it took to reach this point, hearing that was heartbreaking. It felt as though the career I had worked towards for so many years might be slipping away just as I had finally achieved it.”

“Yet the challenges I have faced throughout my life have also taught me an important lesson: when one path becomes difficult to continue, it does not mean your purpose disappears — it simply changes direction.

“With this in mind, I have begun to look toward a new goal within the hair and beauty industry: education. I hope to further my studies and eventually move into a role focused on training and mentoring future apprentices.

“By sharing the knowledge, experience, and resilience I have gained along the way, I want to help guide others as they begin their own careers.

“Winning this Queensland Training Award feels incredible. This is a 20-year dream, if you asked 15-year-old me I would’ve never even thought I’d make it here, let alone be standing on a State stage,” she said.

Learn more about Queensland Training Awards.