Staff Spotlight | The Full Circle Journey of NHI Modesto’s Kenna Bourdon
Kenna Bourdon | NHI Modesto Instructor
Content Summary
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A Fated Discovery: At age 19, while navigating the grief of losing her father, Kenna accidentally discovered the National Holistic Institute while looking for a mortuary. That split-second decision to call the school instead led to a lifelong career and a profound sense of purpose.
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The NHI “Home” Experience: Kenna describes her time as a student as transformative, finding a “second home” in an environment filled with supportive instructors and a calming, therapeutic atmosphere that made complex learning feel like a natural calling.
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Coming Full Circle: After 35 years in the industry, Kenna recently returned to California and found a teaching position at the Modesto campus. She now shares her decades of experience with students, noting that while the school has grown, it has perfectly preserved its founding values of humanity and unique support.
Kenna Bourdon is an instructor at the NHI Modesto campus whose career in massage therapy began with a serendipitous discovery in a phone book and has now come full circle as she returns to teach the next generation of therapists.
A Fated Discovery in a Time of Grief
Thirty-five years ago, Kenna Bourdon was at a painful crossroads. At just 19 years old, she was grieving the sudden passing of her father, feeling trapped in a college curriculum that didn’t feel right, and carrying the heavy responsibility of arranging her father’s services.
In a moment of overwhelming grief, she reached for the phone book to find a mortuary. As she flipped to the “M” section, her eyes landed on something entirely unexpected: the logo for the National Holistic Institute.
“I must have sat there for 20 minutes,” Kenna recalls. “Instead of calling the mortuary, I called NHI.”
A Second Home Found
That one phone call changed the trajectory of Kenna’s life. Within four days, she had interviewed and toured the campus; seven days later, she started classes. What she found was a school environment unlike any other—a place that felt safe, warm, and deeply cared for.
“The campus itself was like learning at home. Pillows, plants, calming art,” she says. “The instructors were like older brothers and sisters—always there, always wanting to help and support. The learning was easy because it was my calling, and NHI was my second home.”
Kenna graduated with a sense of confidence and a profound love for her new path, embarking on a diverse career that spanned over three decades.
The 35-Year Return
Fast forward thirty-five years, and Kenna found herself at another crossroads. After moving back to California with no set plan, she saw an advertisement that made her heart stop: a teaching position at National Holistic Institute.
Kenna didn’t hesitate. She applied immediately, eager to return to the place that had given her so much. Today, she has been blessed with an invitation to come back “home” as an instructor at the NHI Modesto campus.
A Different Kind of Workplace
Now working as a staff member, Kenna finds that the “vibe” she fell in love with as a student is just as strong today.
“Being at NHI doesn’t really feel like a job because everyone is so happy to be there,” Kenna explains. “I have never experienced more of a work ‘family.’ And never have I felt so encouraged to share my experience, knowledge, and my humanity the way I do there.”
Despite the school’s growth since she attended, Kenna is impressed that it has kept the precious tenets it was founded on—honoring the uniqueness of every individual and providing a level of support that is hard to find anywhere else.
Advice for the Next Generation
For those feeling a pull toward massage therapy, Kenna’s advice is simple: trust that feeling.
“I would tell them that if they feel drawn to it, then it was meant for them,” she says. “There is no other career that connects you to people the way massage therapy does. And I would tell them that the work makes the world a better place.”
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