TLC Graduate: Derrick Tell us about your massage career. "I've been in practice for a while and I've recently opened my own massage spa at the Westgate shopping center. I have five planned for the Austin area. Each one would employ anywhere from 30 to 60 people depending on how many rooms we had. I am bringing massage en masse." What are the best reasons for someone to become a massage therapist? "It’s always a personal thing — why somebody comes to massage therapy as a career. I got into it because I had really bad back pain as a child, and I went to every doctor, chiropractor, physical therapist. You name it, and I went to it. I just couldn't find anything that would really help. It wasn't until I was about twenty years old that I went to a massage therapist. I grew up in a small town, so there wasn't massage therapy there. It wasn't until I came to Austin where that was an option. I got immediate relief from the muscle tension. In time, I started getting real relief from my lower back issues. Each time, I would learn a little bit more about not only myself, but about massage therapy. It changed my life so profoundly. That was what I wanted to do for other people. I was always in the service industry type of businesses. Helping people with literal touch was just amazing to me — that a life could be changed. I live a totally different lifestyle now. I am a lot more active than I could have been if I had not gone down that path." Why did you choose Lauterstein-Conway? "Actually, when I decided that I wanted to do this as a profession, I did a lot of homework. I checked out all of the schools in the area. There were probably about four at the time, back in early 1992. I went to all of their orientations and spoke to all of the directors and everything. They seemed more interested in getting that first payment out of me than they were to get to know me. When I went to Lauterstein, it felt like home right away. Everyone was so nice… interested about who you were." "I come back and do some associate teaching here, and I have always had a strong relationship with John and David. I always thought, even as an ex-student, coming back here was still home. I see a lot of the same teachers that were teaching me. I think that says a lot about a school that they have held on to people that long, and that people enjoyed working. These days, not a lot of professions keep people very long. People are always looking for the next great thing. Well, obviously, Lauterstein is the best thing. People like staying here. I see a lot of my classmates that are instructors now."