Great schools and training programs offer learning opportunities that go far beyond the syllabus. We asked some amazing folks from the community to share stories from their educational journey with us.

 Sofia Skydancer

I’m Sofia Skydancer, a certified massage therapist in five bodywork styles; Lomi Lomi, Swedish, Indian Head, Reflexology and Myofascial Release. Plus, I’ve carried out a year long training in SkyDancing-style Tantra with John Hawken in England. I am also a certified Holistic Healing Practitioner and Hypnotherapist through the Holistic Healing College in London. Read more>>

Rachel Redmond

I have extensive training in the field of Eastern & Holistic Medicine. One of the most important aspects of my training is to heal myself and to stay true to my commitment to personal growth and evolution. Most people have an intuitive sense that quality care is not just a factor of a professional’s training, experience, and clinical skills. It’s also a matter of one’s ability to hold space for the patient’s pain, past experiences, and hopes for the future. Read more>>

REJI MATHEW

In my expressive training, I have built a broad palette: for art, I work with digital animation, drawing, and sketching as my visual processing tools. For writing and poetry, my background in journalistic writing helps me understand how narratives are constructed and re-imagined. Read more>>

Breeze Varner

Leaving high school I knew what I wanted to do. I had a love for makeup and all things beauty. While still in school I became a self taught makeup artist starting with prom and special occasion makeup, continuing to build my kit. College was not an idea I was always fond of, yet my mom convinced me to do something that would give me more in my back pocket. By the end of junior year, I decided to go to Cosmetology school but I applied for classes late and found myself waitlisted. I took a risk and waited, attending the first week with the instructor’s permission in hopes a spot would open up. By God’s grace one spot did and I was accepted into Fullerton Community College’s Cosmetology Program in 2021. I had to play catch up from that first week’s orientation, syllabus, forms, notes and assignments. Anxiety was constantly riding on my back in this process but I did it I caught up and kept up! When I completed Level 1 my teacher gave me the best compliment. She told me “ Breeze I’m so proud of you, you really did the unimaginable. Sitting through class unsure of being added at first, catching up on everything you missed, whilst managing the new assignments coming in through the forty-five hours per week completely remote. You are going to go so many places with your personality and hard working attitude.”. I was really grateful to have supportive teachers throughout this journey as my classmates and I faced the intense training amongst learning completely virtually through zoom. We had a forty-five hour per week schedule, waking up at 6:30 am each morning for class from 7 am to 4:30 pm. All of us set up in our rooms with our kit supplies, table set ups of the practicals for the day, and textbooks for our Smartnotes. Navigating technology and internet issues all throughout. I remember our difficult days of learning how to roll perm rods onto mannequin heads and apply bleach and color all while keeping up with each days time limit. Our first few days of learning how to perm I think we all let some tears escape. Everything was fast paced leaving everyone in a rush to finish and not get behind. The stress of clocking in and out correctly and meeting our 1600 hour requirement with passing grades and every practical and set of notes turned in was constant. I had never stressed so much. Despite these obstacles, I finished the accelerated program in a year and went on to pass my State Board test and become licensed as a Cosmologist. Read more>>

Darrell McDonald

It was an eye opener for me, I was not familar with any type of biological science. When I started it was like forgien language. I was surprisingling interrested and understood the importance of learning about the human body. When I got to the human anatomy and physiology sections a light bulb went off and I realized all of the yoga I have been doing as a hobby can turn into a business of teaching people how to better themselves through yoga coupled with the knowledge of the human body. That incourage me to go get my yoga teacher certification. Read more>>