Alamance Community College conferred certificates upon the first graduates of the new Massage Therapy program during a graduation ceremony on December 10.

The Massage Therapy program prepares students for licensure in the state of North Carolina in the various types of massage, including relaxation, deep tissue, prenatal, and reflexology, Hydrotherapy. The program has nine instructors with day students spending 18 hours a week in class, and evening students training for nine hours a week, but alternate with 15 hours per week.

The program’s first class of four graduates -- Jennifer Hancock and Rhonda Wilson, Jessica Warren and Kendal Concepcion -- came to ACC by different routes. In fact, Jessica Warren and Kendal Concepcion are already making plans to embark upon opening a joint business together called Connective Hands & Body Complex. Pending both students passing the required state certification exam, they expect to open the doors to their company at a location in High Point this January.

Concepcion, 22, graduated from River Mill Academy in Alamance County but put off attending college immediately. He joined the workforce and found employment in a textile mill for three years with the idea of one day enrolling in college to earn a degree in psychology.

Then last year he saw an ACC brochure about the new Massage Therapy program beginning in the spring 2023 semester. The idea of helping people with immediate effects through massage therapy appealed to Kendal, so he switched to part-time at the textile mill and enrolled in the ACC program.

“I saw this as a career opportunity to help people,” said Concepcion. “I wasn’t at first comfortable being in other people’s personal space, as required for this program. But as all of us in the class started learning and practicing the massage techniques, it actually served as therapy for me to become more comfortable with others.” 

Concepcion said he appreciated the intensity of the course that also teaches anatomy, kinesiology, NC Law and Ethics, business, and the psychological aspects of dealing with clients. 

Concepcion and his classmate Jessica Warren are looking forward to opening their new business together. Warren has already passed the 100-question NC-LMBT certification exam and Concepcion will do so in December.  

“We have received so much support from our instructors and others here at ACC about starting our own business,” said Warren, whose past career included working as a dental assisting supervisor and hair stylist while attending ACC.

For some time Warren had thought about training to become a massage therapist but most programs were too far away. Then ACC started the new Massage Therapy program in the spring 2023 semester at the college’s Dillingham Center, which hosts many Workforce Development programs. Warren signed up.

“I wanted to become a licensed massage therapist because it’s a profession that provides a means for clients to feel great coming off the table,” said Warren. “It’s all about an energy and calmness  exchange between therapist and client.”

Warren said the training has produced a side benefit, teaching her countless ways to help her own family’s health through means other than taking medications for pain.

“With massage therapy, it’s possible to find solutions to pain that do not include popping pills to feel better,” she said.

The small student-to-instructor ratio has been ideal, allowing for an intimate program in which the students get to know one another on a personal level. A larger class would not have been as conducive to one-on-one training.

“I credit our instructors with our success because they are all so informed, with a total of decades of experience,” said Warren.

Nancy Triplett, the college’s Massage Therapy Coordinator, said the job rate for massage therapists will increase by 20% between 2021 and 2031, compared to 12% for all other occupations. The median salary in 2021 for this profession was approximately $46,910, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

“Our first daytime class was comprised of four incredible human beings,” said Triplett. “The dedication to their work and ultimate goals have been inspiring. We hold their success in our hearts and are honored to have been given the opportunity to guide them along.”

For more information about the Professional Therapeutic Massage Program at ACC, please contact Nancy Triplett at 336-290-0543.