Staff Spotlight | Margy Sommer | A Journey from Pastry Chef to Professional Massage Therapist & NHI Emeryville Instructor
Today’s Staff Spotlight is on Margy Sommer, NHI graduate & Emeryville Campus Instructor with nearly 30 years (and counting) of experience in the field of massage therapy. Learn more about Margy’s amazing story from pastillage to petrissage below.
I have had a private practice in Alameda for 29 wonderful, inspiring years. I teach at the NHI Emeryville Campus as well. What I love most about my private practice? Wow, so much. They are my people, they come to see me, not for the spa environment but for my expertise and experience. I love that I make each and every client’s day better from the moment they arrive, the session is about caring for them. Over the years I have had some clients stay with me for 26 years. I love working with them, their friends, their families through all the stages of life from work stress to life stress to injury rehabilitation or an illness, through to retirement all the way to hospice and death as well. It has been an honor and a privilege to help these people live their best lives.
Prior to that, I had another career I loved, I was a successful pastry chef and injured my back on the job. I was receiving massage therapy from an NHI grad who, after working on me with continued back pain for a year, suggested I consider changing careers and asked if I had ever considered massage therapy. I was devastated. I did not want to lose the career that I loved but was in a lot of pain every day.
I met with an admissions representative at NHI and was so impressed with how welcoming and warm they were and I was very interested in the curriculum as physical fitness and health are very important to me. Admissions made my registration process so easy and simple and I was able to work while going to school and I was also able to finance my education with student loans and grants. I had some difficulty in high school and college with academics, but NHI gave me tools and ways to learn that I had never known about and found that I have an aptitude for anatomy and physiology.
After graduation, I opened my own practice sharing an office with another NHI grad. I had found work that I loved right away. Some of those clients are still with me today and it has been an honor and a pleasure to maintain a private practice in my hometown for so many years. I found I really enjoyed the clinical work in the physical therapy office and chiropractic office, so I took some advanced courses as well after graduating. Over the years I have worked in all avenues of massage, from managing an upscale spa, hospice work, chiropractic and physical therapy and NHI prepared me for all of this.
NHI gave me the tools I needed from the beginning of my career. NHI allowed me to feel confident working in chiropractic, physical therapy as an aide and to start my own practice. The comprehensive education carried me through to manage an upscale spa, creating my own spa specials as well as creating an onsite practice at a tech company. Not only did I have the manual skills but I learned communication skills and how to manage the business of my private practice. NHI prepares you for all avenues of massage therapy. I am incredibly grateful. Eventually I realized I was the kind of person that I like to have as a teacher, someone who has been living, eating and breathing massage for many years. I call it “learning from dinosaurs” and now I am a dinosaur, and that is why I decided it was time to teach massage therapy.
NHI’s recent acquisition of Bauman College allows Margy to combine the careers she loves as a Massage Therapy Instructor AND Holistic Chef Instructor! Learn more about Bauman College’s 12-month Online Holistic Chef Culinary Program or our 15-month Online Nutrition Consultant Program.
NHI is THE BEST place to start your training as a massage therapist, hands down. The curriculum, the tools offered, the love and care of all the administrators, mentors and teachers will give you all the tools you need to become a successful massage therapist. I have taught at other massage schools over the years and I can honestly say NHI has worked so hard to put together the FINEST massage therapy program with attention to all the important details required to become a successful massage therapist. I am blessed to be teaching with a curriculum that is detailed with excellent content with excellent instructors and learning resources. I love all the different kinds of students we have, all with so many great ideas of their own. I get to share with them but I also learn from all of them. If you are interested in making the world a better place, NHI is a great place to start. I welcome you!!
Learn more about NHI and how YOU can have work you love as a Massage Therapist by connecting with an admissions representative today! Complete this form to get more information.