The SEARCH for SUCCESS: Do What You Love!
Success is finding the path meant for you that allows you to live life to the fullest, successfully combining your personal life with a career that is rewarding on every level. Sound pretty hard to achieve?
That was what Gretchen Breitbach thought at the end of her freshman year at Iowa State University. With an interest in learning more about volcanoes, she had decided to major in geology, but, as she attended her classes, she felt something was missing. The excitement she had expected wasn’t there. She decided to take the summer off and re-evaluate her future. That summer, she spoke with a cousin in Utah who had begun studying at a massage therapy college. Her cousin loved the program and urged Gretchen to look into it. Thinking it would be a good means to an end by providing her with a career that could supplement her financially when she returned to Iowa State, she decided to apply to Dubuque Capri College and take the Massage Therapy program. It was a short program and when she got her license, she could work as a Massage Therapist while continuing her education. She enrolled and started class that fall.
Then everything changed for her! As she studied Anatomy & Physiology, Kinesiology and hands- on techniques, she discovered the holistic healing powers of Massage Therapy. It opened her eyes and she saw something she had never seen before. She learned that through her interaction with people, by helping to heal with her touch, she also healed herself! The combination of her book studies, along with massage and energy work, allowed an all- over connection to the client and showed her what was truly valuable to her in life. She discovered that working with the human body as a tool toward healing helped her to feel fulfilled. “Some people just need to be touched and felt cared for,” Gretchen said. “Massage Therapy allows the therapist to be connected to the client.” She discovered that she felt called to this career path. Massage Therapy changed her life. It helped her to assist in healing and allowed her to find out what was truly important to her in life. It inspired her to interact with other people and guided her in finding out who she was, and finally placed her on the career path meant for her.
Her clients feel relaxed and happy after she has given them a healing massage, and she loves going to work! Her career has allowed her the flexibility to take the time to enjoy life and spend time with her young sons, while continuing more in-depth studies in the field she loves. After her 2002 Capri graduation, she went to work for chiropractor, Dr. Mary Belmont, as a Massage Therapist, and eventually also added massage work in the salon, Open Impressions. In the fall of 2003, she began studying at Northeast Iowa Community College (NICC), while continuing to hold both jobs! She took a year off from college after NICC graduation, and then the next year she started at the University of Dubuque, where she majored in Biology, and was graduated from in 2005 with a Bachelor’s Degree. She added a year of Massage Therapy work at the Captain Merry Salon in East Dubuque, Illinois, then deciding that she wanted the freedom of her own practice; she rented a Massage Therapy space at Salon 150 in East Dubuque, Illinois, where she continues today. Wanting to add to her knowledge in Massage Therapy, she studied Reiki, during her free time, which aided her in ‘grounding’ herself as she worked to remove pain from her clients, but needed to avoid taking it onto herself. Continuing on later, she studied with a Reiki Master, who inspired her and helped her to move to a higher level of healing. She learned understanding and awareness that helped both in her Massage Therapy practice and in life. Her plans for the future include possibly teaching Anatomy & Physiology in addition to her personal Massage Therapy practice. She loves going to Continuing Education classes for Massage Therapy, and she is interested in learning more about Guided Imagery for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Myofascial massage and medical massage. ”There is so much to do in life,” she stated, “and my education in Massage Therapy has allowed me to do many things. My career in Massage Therapy has helped me to grow as a body worker and as a person and has taught me to take the time to learn and experience life.”
“Deciding to go to Capri College completely changed my life,” said Gretchen. “I wasn’t on the right career track. The Capri program in Massage Therapy corrected my career track and changed my life. It opened my eyes to see something I hadn’t seen before. It helped me to become the best person I could be, and gave me the ability to focus on what is important. There is so much to life, and with Massage Therapy, I can have a career I love and still have the time to live life fully! I recommend Capri College whole heartedly. Capri’s motto, “Do What You LOVE!” is the perfect guidepost to a fulfilling life!”
Gretchen works three days a week and alternate Saturdays at Salon 150 in East Dubuque, Illinois, where she shares her expertise with her clients.
Her advice to students unsure of the career they should study, is to “Do What You LOVE!”
