Jeffrey Gauvin

Jeffrey Gauvin graduated from the Salt Lake campus of the Utah College of Massage Therapy Family of Schools in December of 1998. His desire to work on a cruise ship brought Jeff to the school, but after weighing his options, Jeff decided he would like to work in Salt Lake before he seriously pursued his dream of working on a ship.

Upon completion of the program, Jeff began working for the school as a Permanent Teaching Assistant. During the course of his employment with the school, Jeff attended a recruiting visit from the La Quinta Resort and Spa from Palm Springs, California. He was hired almost immediately after his interview and soon after, moved to California to begin working as a massage therapist in one of the larger resort spas in the United States.

Jeff returned to Salt Lake in March of 2000 and began working for UCMT again in the Career Services Department, first as a Career Counselor and was then promoted to the position of the Salt Lake campus Career Services Coordinator within only a few months of his hire date. During this time, Jeff also co-founded and operated a seated massage business, Mountain Standard Time Massage.

In the late winter of 2000, Barb Shannon, a representative of the Judith Jackson Sea Spas visited the Salt Lake campus of UCMT seeking qualified massage therapists to man a brand new spa being built for a new, luxury cruise ship. Realizing that his dream of working on a ship was at hand, Jeff jumped at the chance to interview. Several weeks after the interview, Jeff was called by Barb and offered a position along with several other UCMT graduates. Jeff flew out of Salt Lake in mid-February to the south of France where the ship was docked and being prepared to set sail. He recently sent the following letter to the Career Services Department describing his first few weeks working as a massage therapist in the Judith Jackson Sea Spa:

"We are lucky!!! Our jobs are probably one of the best on the ship. The hours are from 9am to 8pm, however we usually only get fully booked on a ‘sea day.’ On this cruise which is just ending, we had 3 sea days. On port days, we all have had many opportunities to get off the ship and check things out.

"We all had to work one port day – I worked the day we went through the Panama Canal. I can actually say that I have given massage while going through the locks in the Panama Canal – how many [therapists] can say that?

"I have been able to check out Cozumel, Grand Cayman, Cartagena and Columbia. Today we disembark and embark new passengers in Costa Rica – I have the whole day off!!!

"On this last cruise I made over $400 in commissions and just over $200 in tips for [only] ten days of work. This does not include our monthly stipend. Of course, I will be making more as we get [more] together, but it is not bad for the amount of work required. The most massages I have [given] is seven. This is more like a vacation than a job!"