Featured Alumni

Fannie Livaditis

Saint Paul College Massage Therapy Program

The instructor covered all the bases in the introduction to therapeutic massage class: Don't date your clients. Make rules that you and your clients follow. Feel empowered to terminate sessions with inappropriate clients.

That information, it turns out, was just as important as learning lymphatic and Swedish massage techniques for Fannie Livaditis. Right after graduating from the Advanced Therapeutic Massage Techniques program at Saint Paul College in 2002, she placed an ad for her massage services in the City Pages tabloid-and was consequently barraged with inquiries that were, ahem, a little off-color.

But, as she quickly adds, her instructors had prepped her well for ethical issues as part of her degree program, which also featured detailed work on clinical and therapeutic massage techniques, including neuromuscular work, deep–tissue massage, and pre- and post-natal massage, among other subjects. Today, Livaditis is a licensed massage therapist who applies her healing hands in three different Twin Cities locations, including her own practice at the Anew Wellness Center & Spa in Minneapolis' Uptown neighborhood.

For the soft-spoken Livaditis, this is no small feat. She completed her GED at the age of 40, after years in the workforce. Around the same time, she became unemployed and started thinking about a career change. A friend suggested massage therapy. "We're so guarded, and we have so many boundaries around us," says Livaditis, describing why she found the idea of massage so appealing. "I think people feel better with touch. It's about making people feel better."

The self-described "nurturing type" researched the field and found that she could make a good living at it, and started looking for a college with a program that fit her interests. Saint Paul College quickly emerged as the top option. For starters, it had affordable tuition and financial aid available, but it also offered an advanced curriculum in therapeutic massage techniques. "They took it a step further than just relaxation massage," she says. "I also had to take a law and ethics class, and a business class."

The ability to finish in nine months also helped Livaditis make a decision. "Some [programs at other schools] were longer because they didn't have class every day," she notes. "That was a big factor for me. I could have a job and work around my school schedule. And get it done quickly."

Her first class sealed the deal. "It was a small class, 12 or 15 of us," she says. "We had a lot of interaction among each other and with the instructors," she says, adding that not only were the instructors well rounded, but her classmates represented a remarkable variety of backgrounds. And all were supportive of one another, especially when they had to take turns trying massage techniques on each other.

Despite some challenging business, anatomy, and physiology courses, Livaditis says she wasn't overwhelmed with the pace or the material. After accumulating 100 hours of experience, she had a choice whether or not to graduate with a certificate or to advance, which meant completing more clinical hours and learning extra massage therapies. She chose the advanced degree.

Those courses prepared her to start working in Burnsville at Keep in Touch, a massage therapy center with locations throughout the Twin Cities, a month before she graduated. "I got to see how they did things there: their routines, how they did the client intake," she says. "I learned that the client likes to have a nice hot towel with a little peppermint essential oil on it to breathe in and wipe the neck. I learned to use baby powder to wipe up any excess oil."

Next was a position in a chiropractic clinic with two doctors. By mid-February 2005, Livaditis had built up her client list and acquired enough experience to start her own business at the Anew Wellness Center & Spa. She currently runs her practice there, works one day a week as an independent contractor at a senior citizens center in Burnsville, and gives massage part-time at Cahill Salon & Day Spa in Inver Grove Heights.

Despite her busy schedule, she plans on taking more classes and workshops to hone various techniques, as well as to learn about other natural and complementary therapies. For instance, she's thinking about seeking a two-year associate degree in family counseling. Another goal is to start teaching. "I want to teach new therapists going into the field that [massage is] much more than using a specific technique on a muscle," she says. "It's about working with people."

Jenny Shermane is a New York City-based freelance writer.