2024 - Take Five with…Ami Kalisek

Ami Kalisek, massage therapy adjunct faculty member, began at Elgin Community College just over 20 years ago. She began teaching at ECC at the start of the Massage Therapy Program and has been a massage therapist since 1989. “I love being able to teach new therapists,” said Kalisek. “It feels like I am able to give back to my profession by teaching the next generations of therapists.”

Kalisek lives in McHenry, Ill., where she owns a private practice for massage therapy. Sit back and relax while you read more about Kalisek, a long-time faculty member.

Where is the best place you’ve traveled, or where is somewhere you dream of going, and why? Italy. It is amazing! I went for the first time last September, and it is a place I hope to go back to many times.

What was your first job? I worked in a florist shop. I still love flowers, but you need to work every weekend. That part is hard.

Cats, dogs, or house plants? Cats. I have always lived with at least one cat since I was a kid. Now I have two.

What is your favorite meal to cook or favorite dish to eat out? I love to cook Italian. Real Italian, not just red sauce and pasta.

If you could have dinner with anyone, living or dead, whom would it be and why? I would love to have dinner with both of my parents together. My mom has been gone ten years this year, and my dad much longer, 40 years.