Jodi Wiley from the Massage Therapy program joins Inside LCC to talk about what it’s like to be a student in the program, the benefits of a cohort program and where massage therapy can take you.

Website: LCC Massage Therapy Program

It's time for Inside LCC, an inside look at Lansing Community College's academic programs. I'm Cassie Little and we've got you covered with programs that nourish creativity and exploration, cultivate your purpose, and guide you to your career. Listen as we explore some of the opportunities at LCC and learn from conversations with faculty members, staff and students.

Hello. Hello and welcome back to Inside LCC. My name is Kat Cassie Little and I am so happy today to have my guest Jodi Wiley with me. Hi, Jodi.

Hi, Cassie.

Jodi is here with the massage program. So Jodi, why don't you tell us name of the program, your title, things you do, that sort of thing.

Yeah, I am with the massage program. My official title is Assistant Professor Lead faculty. So the massage program has, oh gosh, I think six instructors.

Just one of us, that's me, is full time. And then the other people, they all are running their massage business in addition to doing teaching, instructing here.

Yes, which is something I'm sure we'll get into more. But having instructors that are instructors sometimes, but they also work in the field is so beneficial to students.

Absolutely. Yeah.

That's great.

Some real life experience. Right.

And they can, I mean they have the experience that they can bring to the classroom, but then also the experience of maybe running their own business. They can give that kind of input also. Yeah, I think that makes this program really special. We might be jumping a little bit ahead, but that's okay.

I get excited about it. So.

Yeah.

Can you just tell us, you know, kind of your elevator pitch of the massage program at LCC?

Definitely. So the program has been around since the 70s. It's seen lots of different formations. Currently we have two tracks.

One is the full time program and that's 12 months. Students go to class from about 10am to 2pm, four days a week. And then in 12 months they're out and they can be earning money as a therapist.

Then the other track is a part time.

So usually for students that have full time jobs, the part time is an evening track and it goes from 5:30pm to 9:30pm and they only go three nights a week and that takes 16 months. And then same thing, they're out making money as massage therapist, hopefully in a job that they love.

Yes, yes.

I think that's really cool about this program is that you can kind of look at it from the start and get an idea of how the next year, year and a half of your life is going to look like. Right. Like students know exactly when their class times will Be what classes they'll be taking. That's a really nice thing about the massage program.

Yeah. And actually it's what we call a rapid entry career because it is such a short program.

I mean only a year, 12 months, and then you can be on your way to a new career. So that's why they call it the rapid entry. There's a few of those around here at LCC.

Yeah. That's awesome. So when they finish that program, what does a student end up with?

Right. So when they finish our program, they're eligible then to take the board exam which is required for any massage therapist in Michigan.

Oddly enough, it is not hands on. It's 100 question multiple choice exam.

All right.

But our students actually do really well on the exam. Compared when we look at other massage school scores in Michigan and other national scores, our students do a little bit better.

I'm going to go ahead and brag a little bit.

I'm okay with that.

So when they finish the program, they're eligible to take that exam and apply for a state license and that's it. Then they're off and running.

Awesome. And they end up with a certificate from LCC, Right?

Yeah, that's a good point. It's not an associate degree, you know, not a bachelor degree. It's a certificate of completion.

But that's all you need for a massage therapist in Michigan. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then our students, Gosh, I don't know if this is one of the questions later.

That's all right.

Our students go in a myriad of environments. Like they work anywhere. I've had students go up to Northern Michigan and work at like the ski resorts. Oh yeah.

Doing massage therapy for people in resorts. I've had people, of course, at like chiropractor offices. They often pair massage and chiropractic.

I've had grads go be full time massage therapists in a hospital setting. Just so many different environments that someone can work in. There's the sports massage. So I've had people go and work with teams.

It's just really quite a flexible, you know, depending on someone's interests.

Right.

It could really do it in lots of different places. Yeah.

And I imagine that it has some flexibility in the hours that you work maybe.

Right. That was one of the things that drew me originally to massage.

Yeah.

Was, you know, I could stay at home with my kids for a while and do massage later.

Yep. That makes sense. I think it is a little bit. Leads into the next question. So that's good.

Which was like an Example of some of the kinds of jobs that you could get in this area. So we talked about that. And also if students can start working after they graduate or if they have to transfer to continue their education.

So we answered both of those, I think.

A very high demand for massage therapists in the area. In fact, I host a little job fair for my students every spring. And in.

See, we didn't have it in 21 because of COVID So when we had it in 22, employers were offering hiring bonuses. And I'd never seen that before. I get an email probably every week from an employer saying, hey, do you know anyone who wants a job? Right.

So there is no trouble finding a job for the grads. Awesome. Yeah.

All right.

So then kind of looking at what the experience is of a student in the program, I like asking if you have an example of a class or some of the classes that students would take, tell us a little bit about what it would be like in one of those classes.

Yeah, that's a great question. Well, you actually get massage. That's one of the best fringe benefits of being in massage school is being massaged.

Right.

You have to practice somehow.

Yeah. And so the instructor might teach a series of techniques, and then you practice on one of your classmates.

And then in 30 or 60 minutes, we trade places and we teach the other group, and then they get massage. But some of the classes. Gosh. Well, I'll back up a little bit. So the state requires 625 hours in a massage education program.

Our program here at LCC in the massage therapy program is 744.

Okay.

Quite a bit more than the minimum. And we've asked our advisors, who are employers and people that hire our grads, you know, would you like a fast track?

Maybe we could just get them to you quicker. And every year they tell me, no, your grads are more qualified than other people's other schools.

And we want you to keep all those little extra things. So by the extra things, I mean we've got a class on research literacy. So we train our. Our students how to read about research related to massage.

Wow. Yeah.

We have a class. Let's see, what are some of the extra things? Well, we have a class called maternal infant massage.

And that wouldn't be something that you'd find in all the programs. Okay.

So I would assume that by the name of it, that means learning Massage for people who are pregnant and for babies

because they have some unique health considerations and positioning considerations.

But aside from those kind of extra classes, just the main classes are, you know, massage theory, learning, like why, why is it beneficial and what are some health concerns that we should look out for? You know, we want our grads to be safe and then learning the basic techniques.

That's awesome. And like you said, getting and giving massages in class, I imagine, I mean we talk about, of course getting massage is wonderful.

So that's a benefit of being in the class. But I imagine you can learn a lot as a student too by getting a massage.

So it's not even just, you know, that the other student gets to practice, but then you might be learning a little bit about what this feels like. That when I think I'm doing it this way, that sort of thing, I don't know. I can see there's a lot of benefits to that too.

Yeah, you're right.

In fact, in the very first class massage one, we have the instructor obviously, but then we also have a lab assistant who comes in for the hands on part and it's just another experienced set of hands. And really her job is to make sure each student gets to feel the technique from someone who knows what they're doing.

So you do learn a lot from receiving it.

Yeah, definitely.

Yeah.

Awesome. So you mentioned the program's been around for a long time. I think you've worked in the program for a long time.

Do you have any stories of students or classroom experiences or working in the field, you know, for. With your background, anything like that that you'd like to share?

Oh, man. Yeah, I have lots.

I'm sure you have a lot of stories from working in the field.

So I've been a massage therapist since then and I've got to do some fun stuff. Like one year I went over to a WWE event and I was doing massage backstage for the wrestlers.

Oh my gosh.

Yeah, they would be out on stage wrestling and I'd hear the bell ding and then they would come back and get a little sports massage. That was so wild.

I love that. That's some of the. Like you said, a little experience in a lot of different fields, right?

Yeah. My other highlight was, and I can't say the name of the person because of confidentiality. But I massaged like a really high profile country singer.

Oh, wow.

Who came through and you know, I was just connected with their. With a company that organizes massage therapists for tours.

Okay.

So that was fun.

Wow. Yeah, a lot of possibilities.

Yeah. But student wise man, we've had, you know, I think about the range of different types of students.

Like we often have people who are just newly retired and they want to do something fun with their newfound free time and maybe make a little money on the side. We have people who just graduated high school, you know, an 18, 19 year old. And everywhere in between, like moms who.

Whose kids are going back to school and they've been staying at home or someone who wants a real change in their career direction. It's just, it's a fun mix of people in our cohorts.

Yeah, I love that. And I think, I mean, you mentioned cohorts. I don't think we mentioned earlier.

One of the really cool things about having the day program and the night program and kind of knowing exactly what classes you're going to be taking is that you're going through in a cohort of students usually. Right. So you're with people, the same people in classes over the semesters and it really creates a true camaraderie of going through that, I think.

Yeah, it's a very different experience than just taking random college courses where you might recognize one or two people. You get to know that group. And our group sizes for the classes are anywhere from 10 to 20 somewhere in there, usually around like 14.

But you get to know those 14 people and you know, you're. It's a different kind of studying because you're giving them massage, which is a little more intimate than just studying, say biology together.

But then you have class with them in the same room every, every day that you have class. And you're right. And studies show that connecting students that way, students who feel connected to a group are more successful.

And I think we see that in our program.

I think so. Definitely.

That makes it really special and I think that helps, like you said in school work and just, I don't know the feeling of going through it with each other. You know, it really builds a strong bond that I think is there while you're in school and I'm sure carries on after that as well.

And with the instructors, I know the instructors might teach multiple classes. So throughout the entire time of the program you're getting to know the instructors. And I don't know, it's a great program. I always rave about it.

I love all of our programs, of course, at LCC. But the massage program is definitely special. Yes, exactly.

And so that'd be kind of neat if there was a marriage that happened out of it.

I might need to get them on the podcast.

That would be fun.

Or one of them. Stay tuned for that. The Connections.

A true LCC connect. Right?

True LCC Connect.

I love that.

A couple of massage therapists. Right. You might bring this up still.

I know we're getting close to being done, but I did want to mention massage for people who aren't sure if they want to do the program. I think there's a class for that. Can you tell us about that?

Yeah. So it's called Massage for Beginners. It used to be called Massage for Non Majors, and I think that was a little intimidating or confusing.

So Massage for Beginners, it's just a one credit class. We meet four times, once a week for four hours each time, so 16 hours total. And you learn a basic full body massage.

It's not anything very technical, but you just learn the benefits of massage and how to do it safely on someone at home. And then you can decide like, oh, I really liked this. It felt calming and I get a lot out of it.

Or you can be like, no, I did not like rubbing lotion on people.

So that's a really good opportunity if someone just wants to learn a little bit on the side and, you know, maybe they're not pursuing the program or a way to dip your toe in and see if it's something you'd want to pursue.

Yeah. And we offer LCC offers that actually kind of in two paths.

You can look at it from a credit perspective or it's in the community ed as a non credit class. So either way, awesome.

Good. All right. Well, I think that covers most things. Is there anything else that you think we missed? Anything else you want to share?

I don't think so. It's just such a great program. The instructors are so approachable and invested that I think it just sets a great tone.

From the first day, I bring all the instructors to the Massage One class and so everyone meets all the instructors right away. Even if you don't have someone as an instructor. Maybe for the Next semester. But it's just a great little family atmosphere.

It is, it really is. So if someone wants to maybe get involved, ask more questions or start in the program, I know that they can visit the website LCC Edu Massage.

And then are the like certain programs start at certain times?

Yeah. So I mentioned that there was a full time 12 month program and that starts every August. Okay.

So that one will be coming up soon to start LCC Edu Massage. And then, Jodi, the last thing I want to ask, which I like to ask on Inside LCC, is what excites you most about your field?

And that can just be today. You know, it doesn't have to be overall, but something that excites you right now about your field.

About the field of massage.

Well, I did mention that it's really in high demand and I noticed particularly since COVID And I don't know if that's because people want a way to de stress or if they're looking for other ways to take care of their health, but I've noticed that and that's exciting. As far as my field of instructing, I just love it when I hear back from graduates and say, you know, I got my dream job.

Like this is what I wanted to do. Thank you for helping me get here. I just love hearing from graduates and those that are enjoying their jobs. It's just such a satisfying thing.

Yeah, I love that. All right, well, thank you so much for joining us, Jodi.

Thanks, Cassie.

Yeah. And if you want to learn more about this, we'll have contact information as well as links for the massage program in the show notes of Inside LCC. You can find those at LCCconnect.org.

This has been Inside LCC. I'm Cassie Little, and if there's a specific degree and program you want to hear more about, let us know by contacting us at LCCconnect.org thanks for taking a listen inside LCC.