Chapter Aesthetic Studio: A NEW CHAPTER

for REJUV MEDICAL AESTHETIC CLINIC

Rejuv Medical Aesthetic Clinic in Fargo, the largest medical aesthetic center in the upper Midwest, has partnered with Aspen Dental Management Inc. (ADMI) to launch a new national brand of aesthetic medical studios across the U.S. Melissa Rogne, founder and CEO of Rejuv Medical Aesthetic Clinic, is going to take her successful business and launch this new national brand of state-of-the-art medical aesthetic clinics, call Chapter Aesthetic Studio, this fall.

Founded on Rogne's belief that everyone has a beautiful story to tell, Rejuv was established in 2005. Her passion for providing innovative aesthetic services and products made Rejuv the pioneer in the region’s aesthetic industry and the largest clinic in the Midwest. Rejuv became ranked as an Allergan Top 100 clinic by continually innovating in both technology and client care.

We sat down with Rogne to talk about this new venture, Chapter Aesthetic Studio.

AW:

How did you come up with the idea of Chapter Aesthetic Studio?

Rogne:

Being in business in Rejuv for 16 years, people often asked me, “When are you opening additional locations?” I always said the same thing, “I will never open another location until I know I can make it the same as Rejuv.” I could not figure out how I could multiply myself in that way to maintain the same level of purpose, value and culture. You can set up laser and Botox anywhere, but replicating the uniqueness of a business is difficult.

Then I was approached by ADMI, and our core values were culturally a great fit. More importantly, I knew that they have the experts like real estate teams, human resources and legal teams. They would allow me to do what I want to do and make every single clinic be just like Rejuv. All I needed to do was what I already do well, and it’s running an aesthetics business.

AW:

What’s the significance of the name?

Rogne:

I thought, What would be the name that can really capture everything I knew about aesthetics? Because everyone has their unique narrative, everyone has a story, and we want to meet people where they are at in their stories. When you think about your life, you think about stories, and you think about different chapters. And it came to me like a bolt of lightning. It’s really about chapters! And that’s how Chapter Aesthetics Studio was born.

AW:

How is Chapter Aesthetics Studio similar to Rejuv?

Rogne:

Our main goal is to take the purpose and values that we started with Rejuv and bring them to the national landscape by making aesthetics conceivable to as many people as possible. We are going to be a little smaller than we are in Fargo. Chapter Aesthetics Studio will be one-third of the size of Rejuv, so about 3,500 square feet.

In terms of the services we are offering, we will have about 80% of the services that we already have today, and we will focus on what we are known for, which is aesthetics, body and wellness.

Other than that, the core of who we are, our purpose, values, the way we collaborate and work together as a team will be the foundation for Chapter. So, Chapter is, without a doubt, Rejuv at its soul.

Here are the services that will be o ered at Chapter Aesthetic Studio: injectables such as Botox Cosmetic and Juvederm, laser skin treatments, body treatments including CoolSculpting and CoolTone, bio-identical hormone program, LED light therapy, facial aesthetics services like diamond glow treatment, peels and digital SkinScan.

Rogne knows and understands that beauty and aesthetics are as unique as the individuals she has worked with. It’s not one size ts all. She believes her new project can turn the page and reclaim beauty’s one truth: it radiates from within.

Aleyna Leibfried has set another

With each of those introductory get to share with that child. With ver the last decade, Aleyna Leibfried has set another place at the table for a child they’d only just met dozens of times. With each of those introductory dinners, amidst sharing names and stories, the Leibfried family has wondered how many more meals they’d get to share with that child. With some, it’s been just a few meals over the course of a weekend. With others, it was hundreds or even thousands over the course of a few years. But no matter the quantity, the aim has always been the same: Show love to a child in need of some love. “I mean, what’s one more plate at the table?” says Aleyna. “If I’m setting it for four, I may as well set it for ve.”

Having grown up in a home that welcomed foster children, and gaining two siblings through adoption, it was only natural for Aleyna to open her own home to fostering as well. Shortly a er she and her husband Travis had their second son, the Leibfrieds felt the heart-tug to foster care. One of the things that drew Aleyna and Travis to working in the foster community was their desire to serve and volunteer in a pattern that already t into their daily rhythms. “I’ve always loved to volunteer, but with little children at home I didn’t have time to leave my house for volunteering,” says Aleyna. “Fostering was a way that I could make a di erence without leaving my house for it. I mean, we were already doing all the kid stu and already parenting. What’s one more kid? Crazy is crazy.”

While their youngest baby boy was just learning to sit up, before he’d even taken his rst crawl, the Leibfrieds were already signed up for the family support program through PATH (now called Nexus-PATH Family Healing). The family support program is for anyone whose heart is being tugged at to help children in the foster system, but isn’t quite ready, equipped for, or called to full-time care. Those trained in the family support program provide respite for an at-risk child 4-6 days and nights per month, in addition to o ering mentorship and guidance to the parent or parents. This prevention program plays an integral role in helping struggling families stay together, as trained families partner with and walk alongside them.

A er being in the family support program for about a year, a teenage girl, who the Leibfried’s already knew, was in need of a full-time foster family. They knew instinctively that this was their moment to dive in all the way. Although beginning their journey with a 14-year-old girl wasn’t exactly their plan, they knew it was the right plan. Having two toddler boys at home, teenage girls were way o their radar. But they jumped in anyway and haven’t looked back. She was with them for about a year, and since then, their table has been set for many more kiddos, one or two at a time, who’ve needed an “in-between” family. As Leibfried says, “We’re the middle for these kids. They are coming to us with a past, and the future is still unknown. But we can be their middle.”

While this may all have been normal life for Aleyna, for Travis this was an all-new way of life. However, it has now become a natural rhythm for him too. And his extended family has also embraced the new additions with love and joy; a few of his relatives have even followed suit and gotten licensed to foster. In speaking of family holidays, Aleyna explains that everyone expects there to be extra kiddos.

“One year, we got a new child in our home right before Christmas. So I got on the phone with the whole family and asked everyone to go out a buy another Christmas gi . No one batted an eye. It’s just normal to us.”

While the lifestyle of fostering is a comfortable rhythm to some, it can be an intimidating thought to many. When we hear that Nexus-PATH currently has 120 kids in North Dakota on a waiting list for foster families, we may ache and wish we could help. When we hear that Nexus-PATH helped over 400 kids in 2020, we may inwardly want to be a part of such a tremendous endeavor, but don’t know how. While our hearts may break at these statistics, which have worsened through COVID-19, the thought of opening up our homes to full-time care is a leap that most of us can’t quite wrap our minds around: “Don’t I have to have my own life gured out before I help others?” “Shouldn’t I have my own kids under control before I reach out to more?” “My nances are already strapped — how could I a ord to feed another child?” “I work full time and so does my spouse; aren’t we supposed to be able to stay home with the child?”

“I’m not married — do I have to be?” These are all questions that tend to become roadblocks to the idea of fostering, but the Leibfrieds answer is a resounding “no” to all of the above.

Whether a family fosters through the county system or through Nexus-PATH, they are provided with support that addresses each of the questions above. Nexus-PATH partners each of their foster families with a social worker who is there for them as a professional support, a collaborator and a sounding board for whenever behavioral, medical or emotional struggles arise. If the family work schedule requires childcare or a erschool care to be utilized for the foster child, the nancial cost of that may be covered. Additionally, the foster family receives per diem stipends to o set the living expenses of the child in care. Nexus-PATH also has a respite program in which families can choose to be “helpers” to foster families. Families in the respite program take kids for a weekend or several days so that the primary foster family can have a chance to rest, refuel and reconnect with their nuclear family unit.

Another roadblock for many people is the fear that if they become foster parents, they will have to say yes to every ask. Leibfried assures us that it’s okay to say no. And it’s okay to take breaks. “Sometimes a er a child has le our home, we’ve needed to take a break,” says Aleyna. “So you just tell your social worker not to call for a while. Look, the best thing for the child is not to come into a home that is not ready or equipped for him or her.” The average age of kids in the Nexus-PATH system right now is age 9, and there is a speci c need for families that are open to teenagers. However, Leibfried also mentions that the need for care is so great that families are able to make requests for speci c age ranges of children. Although the agency may not always be able to cater to every request, they are eager to match the right child and family together for a successful experience for everyone.

Perhaps the biggest hesitancy for most of us is the fear of not being able to let go when the time comes for a child to leave the foster home — whether he or she is heading back home or has been placed in an adoptive family. In addressing that concern, Leibfried was adamant, “You just have to let go. You have to. You have no more control a er that child has le your home, so you just have to be able to let go. Trust that you’ve done what you can. Have faith in your social worker. Have faith in the family. Have faith in God.”

While that is obviously much more easily said than done, it is a learned skill and the team of professionals helps foster families through the transition. It’s not a journey you go alone. And it’s not always a permanent good-bye. In some cases, relationships formed while a child is in care end up being permanent friendships with the families staying connected and involved in each other’s lives for years to come. In other cases, where distance may be an obstacle, technology helps foster families stay in contact with kids who’ve come and gone from their home. Occasionally Leibfried walks into her family room and nds her boys playing Roblox virtually with past foster siblings, connecting through online video games. What joy to keep these relationships alive, if even just virtually.

A decade ago when the Leibfrieds stepped into fostering, they did so with the intention of being “the middle,” serving kids that needed a safe place to land while they waited for permanency. Over the years, as een children have come and gone from their home, their desire to permanently add a daughter to their family slowly grew. In August of 2020, they started the process of obtaining their home study with the goal of adding a girl to their family. Now, it is with tremendous joy that they recently announced that dream is coming true. This spring, when an 8-yearold girl for whom the Leibfrieds had previously provided respite care became eligible for adoption, they jumped at the opportunity. “Oh! She belongs with us!” they told their social worker. And indeed she does. Her adoption will be finalized in September, making the Leibfrieds a permanent family of five (plus two dogs and two cats).

So, does that mean they’re done fostering? “Well,” says Aleyna. “We’ve said that we are done before, and obviously that hasn’t stuck. So who knows?”

But for now, the Leibfried’s are adding another place at the table … for good.