Jenny Prince has received our Student of the Month award for August as well as our Scholarship Award Winner for having the most requests in a 4 month period. She recently completed her 250 hr Massage Practitioner Program and is aspiring to complete the 1000 hr Holistic Health Practitioner Program.

What made you want to come to massage school? My first long term career was Early Childhood Education, which lead me to teach Preschool for 17 years.  Then I helped built the spa I currently manage, Salt. I realized I wasn’t nurturing myself enough and that I needed to take care of my health. When I was younger I wanted to do massage, and it was coming back around as something I wanted to pursue. It felt like it was the natural time to do it, like a point in life where I was really ready to do it.

Give us some of your background. I grew up in small intentional community in Mendocino County, where my dad raised me since my mother left when I was little. Because my father raised me I feel like I didn’t get a whole lot of “mother nurturing” growing up, I realized this through many years of self-exploration; I feel this is why I took on this nurturing role when wanting to heal and go to massage school. I moved to Santa Barbara in 1991 for college, and I just couldn’t leave! I had kids, got married, got divorced and decided to stay here to raise my kids in this town and I have loved every second of it!

What is your favorite course? Craniosacal. I feel like the spine is the base or root of our whole system. The beginning class I took provided me with an awakened state and showed me how important it is. I want to take the Craniosacral II & III as well, I think it is a core modality to know and integrate. I am also really excited to learn Trigger Point in the fall.

What have you found difficult about massage school? I have found it challenging to work full time, go to school and be a mom. However the school always makes me feel appreciated and nurtures me. The feeling when you are there is so profound that I want to be there all the time, even though it’s a lot of work, I make it work because I know that it’s right.

What would you like to do with your career as a Massage Therapist? I am going to continue the director at Salt, but take on private clients. I would like to just work on my massage practice part time, make it flexible for me so I don’t over work myself. I manage Massage Therapists so I know how hard they work, so it’s important to me to keep everything in balance.

Any feelings on the school you want to express? I miss it and feel like SBBTI is like a family. I feel supported while I am there and I appreciate that it is diverse. Not only are the teachers diverse in their personalities, teaching style, but the modalities themselves. I love that they make you feel welcome no matter what level you are at. I feel it’s essential that SBBTI encompasses everyone’s strong points and gives them the ability to choose their education. I think that’s huge and there are endless possibilities when you have that. 

This month we celebrate Andrew Roy for his award as the Student of the Month for September. He has had 8 referrals this month coming to see him in the Student Clinic. His healing touch and love of learning about massage, has made him decide the to join the 1000 hr Holistic Health Practitioner Program. He has already taken the Swedish program, along with Acupressure I & II, Muscle Physiology, Medical Qigong Essesntials, Tui Na I & II, Manual Lymphatic Drainage, and Emotional Process. 


What made you choose to come to massage school? It was always a possibility in the back of my mind. Although I never grew up with anything like this in my family, when I received my first massage, I noticed this to be a possibility to be really healing and helpful. I thought I would try it out, and jumped right in.

What is your favorite class? Medical Qigong Essential class. Energy work is very powerful, and Matthew is my favorite teacher! I love his style of teaching, and he is very knowledgeable, and he always has the answer for you.

What are you doing besides massage school? I am taking classes at SBCC studying Kinesiology and exploring different areas of education. Not quite sure where going to go from now.

Give us a little of your background. I grew up in Anchorage Alaska which has quite different with seasons. My grandparents lived here and when I visited here I feel in love with Santa Barbara! The ability to go swimming in the ocean and go hiking in the mountains; I really appreciate good weather! I played sports in school, my favorite was basketball and football, and team aspect of it was an amazing example of healing.

Did you find any challenges with you first started school at BTI? When I first started school, I was a little challenged with massaging and touching people with a loving touch.  With instruction from my teachers and help from family and friends, I learned and grew to touch confidently.

Is there a point in time or instance solidifying that Massage is what you wanted to be doing? Yes! There are two parts that really made it clear to me. First, when I started doing clinics, I noticed the state that some of the clients were in when they came into the clinic, and then how relaxed and happy they became afterwards. It is fulfilling to get to see that, and I love it. Second, all of the classes have really helped and healed me. Qigong though really opened me up to a whole new arena of being in the world. It really helped me along the path of getting in touch with my energy, using energy to enhance my well- being, and then helping to enhance my clients as well.

Anything else you would like to leave us with? I am really grateful for the school. It is a wonderful, supportive, and healing place. I have enjoyed all of my classes and each instructor has their strengths in what they do and what they teach. This has been an overall wonderful experience. Thank you!