Roane State massage therapy student Ciarra Wallace and mother Holly Green graduated in May and plan to start their own business. (Photo by Roane State)
By Bob Fowler, Roane State staff writer
This mother-daughter team is learning together and soon intend to be earning together.
Holly Green and daughter Ciarra Wallace are finishing the massage therapy program at Roane State’s Oak Ridge campus and plan to go into business as therapists in Jacksboro.
“It’s a great opportunity to be able to share this adventure and milestone with my daughter,” Green said. “This way, the family stays together and we help one another.”
Mom and daughter have made the 45-minute commute from their Campbell County home to take their classes.
Green and Wallace obtained their certificates in May, will take the licensure exams this summer, and intend to rent space in Simplicity Salon in Jacksboro, 111 Rusty Road, for the family business.
During the intensive Roane State program, mom and daughter and their 15 other classmates have learned the benefits of massage therapy while also studying human anatomy and physiology.
“I don’t think any of us really knew the benefits (of massage) other than relaxation,” Green said. “We’ve learned a lot about the body and how it works and the healing process.”
Lessons and training are on Mondays and Wednesdays, while students on Fridays study the business end of setting up a massage therapy practice.
Wallace said she knew the massage therapy class would be challenging, “but all of it is very interesting.” Green said she and her daughter “do a lot of studying here (at Roane State) and at home.”
Massages help detox the body, she said, and can relieve stress, boost the immune system and ease depression.
Like many other areas, Campbell County has an epidemic of pain pill addiction, and Green said massage therapy can help “treat people so they don’t have to rely on medication.”
“My goal is to be able to treat people before they get addicted.”
Green said she and her daughter intend to be equal partners in their planned clinic. “One day, my body is going to wear out, and she (her daughter) is going to have to take over.”
Perhaps, she said, her 16-year-old son, Anthony Gaylor Jr., will also be interested in taking the Roane State program and then join the planned family business.
Long-term, Green said, she’d like to set up a scholarship to help future Roane State massage therapy students.
To learn more about Roane State’s massage therapy program visit www.roanestate.edu/massagetherapy or contact program director Garry Genna at (865) 481-2017 or gennagn@roanestate.edu.
This press release was submitted by Owen Driskill.
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