ACC Graduate Spotlight: Alice Franco

There’s nothing like having a lot of hands-on experience — especially for a new massage therapist.

“One of the chiropractors that I interviewed with said my techniques were very advanced for somebody who just got out of school, so I felt pretty good about myself,” Alice Franco said at a recent Inspire Club meeting. “It’s been such an incredible journey.”

Franco graduated from the Massage Therapy program at American Career College in September 2015. A week later she was working in her field, she said, because of the hundreds of hours spent in the massage lab at ACC-Long Beach.

Franco said she was impressed with ACC-Long Beach Massage Therapy Program Director Kara Mirarchi and her experience working as a sports massage therapist with the U.S. Soccer Women’s National Team. Franco said Mirarchi "fought really hard" to provide her students everything they needed as a professional.

“She always made her students the top priority and I’ve never had that from a teacher, ever. I’ve never had a teacher care for me so much to succeed," Franco said. "She made us all feel like we were one big family and that’s something you don’t get in a lot of places."

Franco now works for a chiropractor who helps treat UFC fighters and professional surfers. She also has hours at a wellness center, sharing space with another massage therapist. She eventually wants to specialize in sports massage.

Franco and her younger sister — who recently enrolled at ACC-Long Beach in the dental assisting program — were the first in her family to go to college, she said.

“ACC turned out to be different than what I expected. I thought it was going to be like any other school but it turned out to be the best school I could attend, to be honest,” she said.

Back to News

Take the first step toward your new career today.

Full Name*

Phone Number*

Email*

Program of Interest*

How did you find us?*

By clicking above, I consent to receive calls, emails and/or text messages** by a college representative with information for educational opportunities at the number(s) provided above. understand calls may be initiated by an automated telephone dialing system. I need not grant this consent to receive information or to be eligible to enroll with ACC. I understand that I am not required to provide consent as a condition of any purchase. I also understand that I may revoke my consent at any time in accordance with ACC's Opt-Out Disclaimer. All information provided is subject to ACC's Privacy Policy. (**Standard rates may apply.) Disclaimer I understand that if I no longer wish to receive text messages from ACC, I may revoke my consent at any time by texting back "Stop" to unsubscribe from the service. I understand that if I no longer wish to receive emails, I may revoke my consent at any time by clicking the "Unsubscribe" link within any email I receive from ACC. I understand I may revoke my consent to receive calls by informing any ACC associate calling me that I no longer want to receive calls from ACC.

*Required