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Aug 24, 2011

National Holistic Institute and Biofreeze Announce Winner of the 2011 AMTA Convention Scholarship

National Holistic Institute and Biofreeze proudly announce that Lya Daggett, a senior student at the NHI Sacramento campus, has won the 2011 NHI/Biofreeze AMTA Convention Scholarship, honoring 2010 AMTA/Jerome Perlinski Teacher of the Year and NHI staffer Melissa Wheeler.

Lya will receive complimentary registration, airfare, and hotel for the 2011 American Massage Therapy Association National Convention in Portland, Oregon, this October compliments of NHI and generous underwriting from Biofreeze. While at the convention, Lya will attend numerous continuing education classes as well as special events as a representative and honoree of NHI and Biofreeze.

Many inspirational and compelling applicants submitted essays and letters of recommendation. The scholarship committee expressed desire to send them all. However, with above 95% attendance, over 3.8 GPA, a creatively written essay, and two glowing letters of recommendation, Lya demonstrated herself as a standout student and massage therapist.

In her scholarship essay she writes, “The dream of Massage Therapist has been with me since I was a child.” Lya is especially excited about attending the AMTA National Convention for the first time. “Attending the AMTA National Convention will enrich my massage career in many ways that I know, and many more that I won’t realize until I’m back in Sacramento sharing what I learned with my NHI student family.”

Lya plans to bring as much of the convention experience back with her for those who cannot make the trip by “providing written and verbal information/discussion to my classmates as well as some hands on demonstration. I would also be delighted to lead a discussion group for any interested students.” Lya graduates as a professional Massage Therapist and Health Educator with 720 hours of training from NHI this November. Her training has also enabled her to become certified by the California Massage Therapy Council.

The NHI/Biofreeze AMTA Convention Scholarship is open to seniors and graduates of all 6 NHI campuses and was the brainchild of NHI veteran teacher Melissa Wheeler. After being named the 2010 AMTA/Jerome Perlinski Teacher of the Year, Melissa envisioned a way others could experience the same sort of inspiration provided to her by attending massage conventions throughout her career. She knew many students and graduates beginning their careers did not have the means to attend and, thus, the idea of a scholarship was born. With a multi-year financial commitment from Biofreeze, NHI and Melissa Wheeler hope this annual scholarship will help Lya Dagget and other future massage therapists have work they love!