Alisa Napper

Alisa Napper graduated from the Utah Valley Campus of the Utah College of Massage Therapy in March of 1999. Soon after graduation, Alisa opened her own practice in Lindon, Utah. In 2000, Alisa began working as an onsite massage therapist for Novell. She also works as a PTA at nights at the Utah Valley Campus. She recently sent the following e-mail to Career Services:

"I graduated from the [Utah Valley] Campus in March of 1999. I immediately took my state boards and opened my own private practice called "FEEL THE KNEAD MASSAGE THERAPY". My practice became very successful after only a short time. I was very happy with the part-time work that I had. I was ‘a stay at home mother.’ I did not have to work.

"In the fall of 2000 my life took a drastic change and I was forced into looking at my business as a way of surviving. Soon after this event, I heard that Novell was looking for a new therapist. I immediately faxed my resume to them. I was interviewed along with many other therapists. Following my second interview which was a hands on session with their chiropractor; I was hired literally on the spot.

"As usual when starting out any new business, things were relatively slow. As the year progressed I began to get more and more business strictly from word of mouth. By August, I was booked fairly solid, working only a part-time schedule. In November, I was asked by the fitness center to teach a ‘Brown Bag’ class on some relaxing and stress relieving techniques for home and office use. As a general rule these classes would only bring in about 12 people. I was told not to plan on any more that that. On the day of the class my supervisor informed me that I had 80 people sign up and that they usually had a 50% show rate. We set up chairs for 50 people. I had 67 people in attendance and a very positive response to the information that they were given. When I returned to my office I found my mailbox completely full [with requests from] people who were wanting to schedule with me. I know that when I am able to open my schedule to full-time I will be able to keep busy.

"I am so grateful for the education the UCMT has provided for me. I am glad that I took my education seriously. I worked hard to learn and retain the information that I was given. I kept up on my studies and was able to graduate with a 4.0 GPA. I attended all of my classes and every clinic shift, loving every moment. I love my profession as a therapeutic massage therapist. I love and am so grateful for the people with whom I am able to touch. If I am asked for words of advice, I would say to study hard, attend all you your classes and clinic shifts, learn how to talk about the work to people, work on as many different people as you possibly can and to let Love and Compassion flow through your work. What a great gift this work has been in my life! Thank You UCMT!

"Thank you for taking the time to read my story. I hope that it will serve to be an inspiration to those who may read it!"