As a massage therapist, Natalia Quintana knows the value of hands – especially the kind of helping hand she received through the Step Forward Scholarship Fund.
Natalia, who now runs her own mobile massage therapy business out of Mebane, began her 2-year-plus stint at Governors Club in 2019, shortly after she moved from northern California – “blindly,” she said, “leaving my job, my family, and everything I’d known my whole life to start new.” Because she had tended bar at various golf courses and clubs out West, her online job application service flagged openings at Governors Club. “When I drove through GC gates for my first interview, I knew I was home.”
She started as a bartender with Alex and Greg (“love those guys for ever and ever”). “I was always a bar closer and spent many nights getting to know and connect with many wonderful members.. There’s a few I’m sure who remember I was the lax bartender and would stay open later for them if they really wanted. I won’t name names. But they know who they are,” Natalia said.
As fun as her tending bar job was, it didn’t fill her soul. When Natalia was 7, her father Tony was badly injured in a motorcycle accident. When he was in recovery, she would rub his hands, feet and shoulders to ease his pain. “I remember after my dad’s motorcycle accident my mom had us seeing a chiropractor, and it was shortly after that I had my first massage,” she said. “I knew right away that I wanted to help people and make them feel as good as I did when I left the office of that massage therapist with the soft, godly hands.”
After a year of working at Governors Club she heard about the opportunity with the SFSF scholarship program. “I was able to work this one job and go to school full time,” Natalia said. “I honestly had thought about college a million times, and even checked out massage schools in California, but nothing I could ever afford, even working three jobs.”
Natalia received SFSF grants in 2020 and 2021, enrolling at Gwinnett College in Raleigh in the fall of 2020. “It wasn’t always easy working full-time at GC and navigating a hands-on profession such as massage during a global pandemic,” she said, “but I had my eyes set on the prize and knowing I was getting the financial help I needed only encouraged my drive.
“I graduated August 2021 and hit the ground running” Natalia said. ““I was offered an internship as a sports massage therapist at NC State, working on the college football team. I am still in contract with them till this summer; however, we don’t do much when season is over unless it’s a couple of sessions for spring training,” she said. “We have 30 minutes, sometimes 45 minutes, with each player. And we will treat around four or five players in two to three hours at a time.”
Natalia, 36, began massage therapy as a sole proprietor, but last year she incorporated as Marvel Massage by Natalia, LLC. “I specialize in deep-tissue massage and have treated a wide variety of complaints,” she said. “One common complaint I see is the lower back, glutes & ‘sciatica’ pain.” Those pain points, Natalia said, can be fixed with “a little elbow grease and trigger-point work..”
But the biggest news for Natalia is occurring away from the massage table. She and her fiancée are expecting a daughter in July. Her gain is the Wolfpack’s loss: “This is the first year I won’t be re-signing my contract with NC State, due to my pregnancy and being unable to commit to the boys next season.”
Nancy Broaddus, president of the SFSF, praised Natalia’s drive. “Natalia Quintana embodies the spirit of the Step Forward Scholarship Fund—determined, hardworking, and committed to her dreams. From bartending at the Governors Club to becoming a skilled massage therapist and successful entrepreneur, her journey is a testament to the power of education and opportunity,” Broaddus said. “Natalia represents exactly the kind of dedicated employee we aim to support, proving that with the right resources, career dreams in any vocation can become reality.”
Speaking of dreams, Natalia said, “SFSF allowed me to make my dream a reality. What a blessing! The members and SFSF have truly changed my life and all for the better. This gave me the opportunity to work for myself, something I have always dreamed of and desired. I am now able to set my own schedule, which now is needed more than ever as I enter this new chapter of my life and navigate motherhood for the first time.”
Natalia, who now runs her own mobile massage therapy business out of Mebane, began her 2-year-plus stint at Governors Club in 2019, shortly after she moved from northern California – “blindly,” she said, “leaving my job, my family, and everything I’d known my whole life to start new.” Because she had tended bar at various golf courses and clubs out West, her online job application service flagged openings at Governors Club. “When I drove through GC gates for my first interview, I knew I was home.”
She started as a bartender with Alex and Greg (“love those guys for ever and ever”). “I was always a bar closer and spent many nights getting to know and connect with many wonderful members.. There’s a few I’m sure who remember I was the lax bartender and would stay open later for them if they really wanted. I won’t name names. But they know who they are,” Natalia said.
As fun as her tending bar job was, it didn’t fill her soul. When Natalia was 7, her father Tony was badly injured in a motorcycle accident. When he was in recovery, she would rub his hands, feet and shoulders to ease his pain. “I remember after my dad’s motorcycle accident my mom had us seeing a chiropractor, and it was shortly after that I had my first massage,” she said. “I knew right away that I wanted to help people and make them feel as good as I did when I left the office of that massage therapist with the soft, godly hands.”
After a year of working at Governors Club she heard about the opportunity with the SFSF scholarship program. “I was able to work this one job and go to school full time,” Natalia said. “I honestly had thought about college a million times, and even checked out massage schools in California, but nothing I could ever afford, even working three jobs.”
Natalia received SFSF grants in 2020 and 2021, enrolling at Gwinnett College in Raleigh in the fall of 2020. “It wasn’t always easy working full-time at GC and navigating a hands-on profession such as massage during a global pandemic,” she said, “but I had my eyes set on the prize and knowing I was getting the financial help I needed only encouraged my drive.
“I graduated August 2021 and hit the ground running” Natalia said. ““I was offered an internship as a sports massage therapist at NC State, working on the college football team. I am still in contract with them till this summer; however, we don’t do much when season is over unless it’s a couple of sessions for spring training,” she said. “We have 30 minutes, sometimes 45 minutes, with each player. And we will treat around four or five players in two to three hours at a time.”
Natalia, 36, began massage therapy as a sole proprietor, but last year she incorporated as Marvel Massage by Natalia, LLC. “I specialize in deep-tissue massage and have treated a wide variety of complaints,” she said. “One common complaint I see is the lower back, glutes & ‘sciatica’ pain.” Those pain points, Natalia said, can be fixed with “a little elbow grease and trigger-point work..”
But the biggest news for Natalia is occurring away from the massage table. She and her fiancée are expecting a daughter in July. Her gain is the Wolfpack’s loss: “This is the first year I won’t be re-signing my contract with NC State, due to my pregnancy and being unable to commit to the boys next season.”
Nancy Broaddus, president of the SFSF, praised Natalia’s drive. “Natalia Quintana embodies the spirit of the Step Forward Scholarship Fund—determined, hardworking, and committed to her dreams. From bartending at the Governors Club to becoming a skilled massage therapist and successful entrepreneur, her journey is a testament to the power of education and opportunity,” Broaddus said. “Natalia represents exactly the kind of dedicated employee we aim to support, proving that with the right resources, career dreams in any vocation can become reality.”
Speaking of dreams, Natalia said, “SFSF allowed me to make my dream a reality. What a blessing! The members and SFSF have truly changed my life and all for the better. This gave me the opportunity to work for myself, something I have always dreamed of and desired. I am now able to set my own schedule, which now is needed more than ever as I enter this new chapter of my life and navigate motherhood for the first time.”
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Step Forward Scholarship Fund, Inc.
P.O. Box 4631
Chapel Hill, NC 27515-4631
[email protected]
Step Forward Scholarship Fund, Inc. is a 501c3 organization. EIN #83-3175469