Barbara Marsella, RN, Pure Body Works, Wesley Chapel, Florida

It is well-known that change is one of the only things that remains constant. This is true for most aspects of life, none more so than careers. Often, change can feel like it turns the world upside down, and it seems that embracing it is the only way to come through unscathed. The ability to do this is a skill at which
     Barbara Marsella, esthetician and registered nurse, of Pure Body Works in Wesley Chapel, Florida, excels. As a long-time veteran of the health care industry, she began her career as a medical assistant. After climbing the ladder to become an office manager and then going to nursing school, Marsella honed her medical, as well as her people, skills. “I love people. I love taking care of people,” she explains. Because of her enjoyment of the one-on-one aspect of her job, Marsella worked as a home-based health aid. After completing her education, she decided to work in a hospital in order to strengthen her continuing education.
     “I went directly into the intensive care unit, but it was too emotional. You get involved with the families, crying and mourning with them. I was crying all the time and thought, ‘I need to get out of this,’ ” says Marsella. Soon, she moved to the emergency room where she was able to stabilize patients and send them on. It was in the midst of all this stress that Marsella began to embrace esthetics.
“I had a dermabrasion treatment and permanent makeup and loved it,” she explains. When the owner of the establishment that performed these services moved, Marsella decided to take a chance and buy the business. After enrolling in a permanent makeup and esthetic school in 2004, she opened Marsella’s Face, Body & Soul in Dade City, Florida. Although she had to close the business’s doors recently due to heavy competition in a small area, Marsella hasn’t let this setback define her. Now working at Pure Body Works, the official massage therapists of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, she is once again embracing change.    “The exposure to the white collar and executive world at Pure Body Works is priceless,” explains Marsella.
     It has confirmed that she does her craft well. “When you go into the executive world, you know that you are achieving what you’ve learned to make people feel happier and look younger,” she says. “You have completed what they want and they come back and you know you’re a success.”
     Right now, life is in a transition stage for Marsella, and she recently has decided to trace her roots back to the Midwest. Returning to Indiana after 33 years to visit family, Marsella realized it is where she would like to remain. Though still living and working in Florida, once settled in Indiana, she hopes to realize her dream of owning a medical spa where she can combine her knowledge of the medical and esthetic fields. Marsella admits, however, that she needs to learn more about the business aspect of such a venture. “You can never stop learning,” Marsella says.
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