For Immediate Release
Contact: Daniel Wackershauser, Marketing and PR Specialist
Phone: 608.822.2303
Mail: 1800 Bronson Blvd., Fennimore, WI 53809
Date of Release: December 15, 2025
From small-town roots to Music City
Rivers finds success in Nashville
Nashville, Tenn. -
What began as a passion for hair in a small Wisconsin town has grown into a thriving career on some of country music’s biggest stages. Southwest Wisconsin Technical College alumna Molly Rivers, a 2007 graduate of the Cosmetology program, is now a successful freelance stylist in Nashville, Tenn., working on music videos, red carpets, and industry award shows.
Rivers grew up in a family that moved frequently as her father progressed in his education career – first as a teacher, then principal, and eventually superintendent. By fifth grade she landed in the Wauzeka-Steuben School District, where she would graduate in 2007. Thanks to the Youth Options program, she enrolled full-time at Southwest Tech during her senior year of high school, completing both high school and cosmetology credentials in the same year. “I was the youngest in my class,” said Rivers. “It was nerve-racking, but it taught me to be brave and confident in unfamiliar settings. That experience helped me later when I moved to Nashville and had to start all over again.”
After graduation, Rivers worked in several Wisconsin salons before deciding to pursue the bigger creative opportunities she always dreamed of conquering. Inspired by early trips to the Chicago Hair Show and Nashville family visits, she made the move to Tennessee in 2014, knowing no one except a future roommate she met through a mutual contact.
Success didn’t come overnight. Rivers bartended to make ends meet while networking in the beauty and entertainment scene. A break came when she joined a wedding styling company and began assisting others on photo and film sets.
A decade later, her persistence has paid off. Rivers now freelances full-time, working with production companies and record labels on high-profile events. She has styled artists and performers at the CMA Awards, ACM Awards and Grand Ole Opry, and has traveled for music video shoots in cities like Las Vegas and Dallas. She especially enjoys the creativity on projects set in different eras. “Some of my favorite work is on period-style music videos,” she said. “It’s exciting to bring characters to life.”
Her family shares the Nashville creative lifestyle. Rivers’ husband, Sean, is a singer-songwriter. Their daughter, Sage, will turn seven in January and has already become familiar with backstage passes and live music environments – even if she doesn’t realize how unusual that is.
Looking back, Rivers hopes others will believe in boundless goals, too. “Don’t limit your dreams,” she said. “I graduated in a class of 22 students, and now I style hair at the biggest shows in country music. If you can’t stop thinking about a dream, you owe it to yourself to chase it.”
| Southwest Wisconsin Technical College is one of 16 institutions that comprise the Wisconsin Technical College System. The college was recently named the winner of the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence. Southwest Tech offers more than 60 programs in a wide variety of disciplines. Courses are offered on campus, online, HyFlex and in a blended format. The college provides apprenticeship, certificate, technical diploma, and associate degree programs that respond to district workforce needs and prepare student for family-sustaining jobs and career advancement. |