| The 2005 Scholarship Winners
Each spring MASSAGE Magazine awards five $1,000 scholarships to deserving students of massage or touch therapy, as a way of contributing to our world's healthy future. Find out more about our scholarship program.
Jennifer Nelson
Cortiva/Somerset
School of Massage Therapy
Piscataway, New Jersey
Jennifer Nelson was healthy
and active, until diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome
and fibromyalgia in 2001. She then found herself visiting
one physician after another, trying to find relief from
muscle-and-joint pain, neurological impairment, anxiety
and headaches.
One day she decided to treat
herself to a massage, "something that I had always
enjoyed as a pampering in the past," she says. She
felt better after the session, so she began receiving massage
regularly. That combined with exercise, a balanced diet
and some additional physician visits has led to her living
virtually symptom-free today. The benefits she derived from
massage led her to enroll in massage school.
After graduating, Nelson plans
to work in the areas of pain management and rehabilitation.
She says, "I would like to see the many people who
suffer with pain every day learn about the methods that
they can use to help their bodies heal and take the responsibility
of their health into their own hands."
Kim
Larsen
Mt. Shasta Institute
of Holistic Therapies
Mt. Shasta, California
A self-described "natural helper and nurturer,"
Kim Larsen is a single mother of three and has worked as
a special-needs instructional aid for 10 years. She believes
that massage is an important approach to living a holistic
lifestyle, and adds, "This may become a lucrative occupation,
but more essential to me is that it constitutes right livelihood
and embraces an overall joyfulness."
With her background in special-needs
education, focusing her future practice on this client population
is a natural fit for Larsen. "I would like to be an
advocate for the healing power of massage, by designing
workshops for educators and the family members of these
students," she says. "Family members will be invited
to practice these applications at home."
Kelly
Kempter
Irene's Myomassology Institute
Southfield, Michigan
A gymnast and dancer by training, Kelly Kempter was a student
in the dance department at a New York City's Hunter College
when she felt the first twinges of sciatic pain. Through
connective-tissue work, and postural and movement retraining,
Kempter literally learned a new way to walk and move. Now
she wants to become a massage therapist to help others increase
their knowledge of body awareness.
"We all have the responsibility
to tend our corner of the global garden, and I am doing
that through the practice of massage," she says. "We
should never underestimate the infinite effects of a loving
touch."
Sarah
Furtek
Brenneke School of Massage
Seattle, Washington
Sarah Furtek has been on a self-propelled trajectory toward
a massage career ever since high school, when she received
a session. "It was an amazing experience—and
I immediately began looking into massage schools, collecting
information videos, booklets and [school] applications,"
she says.
Today Furtek is fulfilling
her dream by attending Brenneke School of Massage. Upon
graduation she plans to focus on women's health, combining
massage, her ability to speak Spanish and her background
as a doula (birth coach) into one career.
"My hope is to work at
a local low-income clinic," she says, "providing
bodywork and support to underserved women in order to help
them feel relaxed and safe and also connected to their changing
bodies as they go through pregnancy."
Dawn
Bennett
Moscow School of Massage
Moscow, Idaho
When her now-deceased,
disabled daughter, Megann, was one year old, Dawn Bennett
began massaging her. Now she volunteers for an organization,
Families Together of the Palouse, that supports and educates
families with disabled children. Thanks to Bennett, members
can visit a "quiet room" to receive a foot-and-hand
massage.
After she graduates, Bennett
plans to work with Alzheimer's patients, and is also interested
in opening a wellness center. She says her future will be
informed by her past experience with Megann. "Her short
life was filled with pain and stress for her and me. I learned
about massage and self-care … and I knew that I could
help others," she says. "It is my goal to be an
advocate for massage to those who need touch and compassion
most."
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