“For me, it’s never been a question to be active, it’s a LIFESTYLE” says Erika Kosarko, Kinesiology graduate, RMT and WCCMT instructor.
Since the age of 8, Erika Kosarko has played in competitive sports and has been drawn toward an active lifestyle for as long as she can remember. As an adolescent, she was considering getting into physical education in order to combine her interest in teaching with her passion for physical activity. Upon graduating high school, however, she decided to instead venture into the field of Kinesiology as she felt it offered a broader education and was excited that it connected exercise to the medical field.
In 2001, Erika attended the Kinesiology program at Simon Fraser University (SFU). She really enjoyed her courses and felt that they gave an excellent background to work in rehabilitation. She also learned a lot during her time there, especially in the fields of physiology, exercise and bio-mechanics. Upon graduating from SFU in 2005, Erika was considering either pursuing a career in Physiotherapy or Massage Therapy.
After great debate and consideration, she decided on massage 
therapy. So, she did her research and chose to come to WCCMT. With her Kinesiology diploma, Erika was able to get transfer credits for the academic classes. She also found that with her background, the classes seemed easier and she was able to achieve higher grades. She felt that she was also more successful in applying the knowledge she was learning in her academic courses to her practical courses.
Upon completing the RMT program at WCCMT in 2008, Erika worked in clinics and discovered that what she enjoys most about RMT is working alongside physiotherapists to help those in need of rehabilitation. She strongly believes that successful recovery requires a combination of specialized workers, including physiotherapists, massage therapists, and chiropractors. She loves seeing people improve and feels that this success is stronger with a team approach.
Today, Erika continues to work in multidisciplinary clinics, specializing in musculoskeletal injuries, and also teaches here at WCCMT. She loves being an instructor as she feels it enables her to realize in part her adolescent dream of being a teacher while passing along all her knowledge gained from both the RMT program and from her Kinesiology background. Because she is a WCCMT grad, she has had the opportunity of growing into the instructor role, starting off as a TA in MAY 2012 and later moving into the role of primary instructor in January 2013. Combining exercise with teaching has always been something she wanted to do, and as an instructor at WCCMT, she feels she now has accomplished this goal.
For anyone with a Kinesiology or Health Science degree, Erika highly recommends getting into Registered Massage Therapy. From her experience, making this move has opened up so many doors and has offered her a world of flexibility. She notes that coming into the RMT program with this type of background can make for a smoother transition into massage therapy and will often enable you to pick up on a lot of what’s being taught, in both academic and practical courses. She also feels that the RMT program at the College of Massage adds so much value to the knowledge gained through studies in Kinesiology, and that the combination of diplomas make for a truly exceptional career and great asset.
At WCCMT, we are proud to see our students become instructors. In addition, we are pleased to be able to provide current students with the talent and skill of specialized RMTs like Erika. Erika, we thank you for the opportunity of sharing your story; we truly value your knowledge and are thankful to have you as part of our faculty.
https://collegeofmassage.com/new-westminster/admissions/fast-track-program/
If you would like to be featured in our blog, please contact Aline at 604-520-1844 ext. 223 or [email protected].
