Married with two young children and working in the family chiropractic office as a massage therapist, Melinda Hallam realized she still had more than 30 years of work ahead of her, and she wanted to do something she was passionate about. So she put her fears aside and enrolled at Sherman College. When she graduates, she’ll join her father and uncle as a doctor of chiropractic.
Growing up in the chiropractic lifestyle, Ryan Burkhart was inspired by science and health as a sophomore in high school and decided then that he would follow his father’s footsteps and enroll at Sherman. “I saw Sherman as the place to think of both the why and the how of chiropractic,” he explains.I'm right about half way through my time here at Sherman at this point and am getting ready to take part 1 board exams. It has been a stressful quarter to say the least, and that is why I'm glad to be in the quarter that I am. I think every quarter has fun together, but my quarter seems to mesh together quite well and even when things get very stressful we have the ability to step back from everything and lighten each other up every now and again.
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Winter has now come and gone to Spartanburg. When I returned to Spartanburg Saturday from Kentucky I was surprised as I turned south out of the mountains of North Carolina to come into South Carolina, by all the cars headed north with bumpers plastered with snow. I couldn't see any storms ahead of me at the time, but sure enough, as I was coming into Spartanburg I was greeted with about three inches of new snow on the ground, and kids everywhere making snowmen and having snowball fights. Having come here from northern climates, it was a welcomed surprise for me. It was all gone by Sunday afternoon, and as I write this it's 60 degrees and sunny again, but it was nice to see a little winter here in South Carolina.
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Chiropractic school is a long road. As I close in on the end of my 7th quarter, and part one boards, I'm just now beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I'm right about at the half way point in my schooling here, but I'm nearly into clinic and from there graduation is just around the corner. Not only is it a long road, but it's a tough one too. In the last 20 months I've seen a lot of changes in my life, and I'm sure I will see more in the next two years. Some have been good, some have been bad, and those that are still to come will certainly be the same way. But one thing remains constant, I am here to make a difference for myself and for my family, and that's the only thing that really matters. Life is full of situations that are completely out of our control, so our job is to control the situations that we can and make the best of those. That's what's nice about being here at school. Everything that I do here is within my control. I can choose to study or not to, and my grade will be dependent solely on that choice, not on anything that's outside of my influence. So bring it on! Two more years are going to bring a lot of blessings into my life that I will be grateful for for the rest of my life, so I can handle whatever comes my way.
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There are certain benefits to going to school in the south. Friday I was able to experience my first snow day ever, when the school closed down for an impending storm. Having come from an undergraduate institution in Rexburg, Idaho (a town that students affectionately referred to as Iceburg), I'm used to copious amounts of snow (without plowing I might add) without ever letting out of school for it. I do remember a few days when I was there that school was let out for my kids because the temperature was too low to start the school busses (diesel freezes at approximately -20 farenheit). But because the college did not run busses, it remained open. Therefore, having a snow day was a new and enjoyable experience for me. Instead of staying here until 3:00 in the afternoon, the school was closed at 11:00, so I was able to hit the road for Kentucky at about 10:30. The storm ended up to really be a lot of bluster, but little fury, as it only slowed down my drive by a few minutes, but I am happy to have it. The mild weather of the south is fantastic, but sometimes even better is the unfamiliarity of winter weather down here which can get us a little extra time off of school.
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For those who don't know, Sherman College has a new president this quarter, and his name is Edwin Cordero. The student body was introduced to him today in an assembly where he anounced his vision and plans for the future of Sherman College. I have to say that I was impressed. He has a great view of where he wants this school to go, and if he is able to implement half of his ideas, it will be great for the growth of Sherman College and the expansion of straight chiropractic on the national and world stage. I look forward to seeing these changes occur in the near future, and hope that some of them can happen quickly so that I can see the benefits while I am still here at school, however, if i don't I will still have the opportunity to use them to help get other students here in the future when I am in practice.
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Here we go again. Another quarter has started here at Sherman. Winter 2013 is here. It's 7th quarter for me and it's shaping up to be a busy one. today is day two and I already have about six things that are due on the first two days of next week. Then of course, at the end of the quarter, right before finals I get to experience part 1 national boards. However, when I get through with this quarter, I will officially be half way done with my schooling here, and I will have gotten through my first board exams which is also a huge milestone. So I guess I should just look forward to this quarter.
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At least that's how it feels here. It's December 5th and I decided to go with shorts, flip-flops and a hawaiian shirt because it has been reacing the high 60's to low 70's all week and is supposed to reach 73 again today. In my undergraduate studies I was in Idaho, and this time of the year all you want to do is find warmer climates or stay indoors because a warm day is one that breaks out of the low 30's. Here it looks like it's winter outside because the leaves have come off all the trees, but when you step out the door you are greeted with a comfortably warm breeze and sunshine. It's no wonder the elderly tend to move south. For those wishing for a white christmas, it doesn't look hopeful, but I'm not going to complain about being able to drive around in shorts with my windows down in December.
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I know I'm about a week late, but it's never a bad time to give thanks for the blessings we have. At this time in school I am thankful that I'm no longer in first quarter, but instead I'm moving along and getting ever closer to graduation. I'm thankful that we're about to have a three week break to be home with family. I am also thankful to be going into a career that will provide for my family and give other people additional reasons to be thankful. Gratitude is an attribute that we can and should carry with us all year long, but unfortunately, we often get caught up in negativity and finding fault with everyone and everything around us, instead of focusing on the good things and people around us, and all the things that we have.
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It's Monday of Thanksgiving week, and as a dedicated student, here I sit, at school with only two days of classes before going home for a 5 day weekend. Some in my class have decided to simply cut these two days and stay home for the whole week of Thanksgiving instead of coming for two days, which is exactly what I would like to have done, but couldn't bring myself to do it. I think as students we should petition the administration next year to just have classes on Veteran's Day (no disrespect intended for our veterans, it was just the nearest holiday) and take off the Monday and Tuesday before Thanksgiving giving us the whole week off. On the bright side, at least Thanksgiving was established as a Thursday holiday, ensuring that we always get an extra long weekend for the holiday.
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The presidential election happened last night and I'm sorry to say that I am very disappointed with the American people. This great nation was founded on principles of freedom and individual accountability, and today we see that the nation as a whole no longer values those principles. Today we have voted for collectivism and dependency, and it makes me worry for my future as a chiropractor and business owner.
The very principle behind owning ones own business whether it be a chiropractic office, or any other business, is to be the best that you can be at your profession and be rewarded for it by having more patients, or selling more of your product. We have seen in the last four years that increasing regulation of business, and an economy that's barely got a pulse has made this simple principle harder to achieve.
I fear that without real change in our system, our nation is about to go bankrupt and the strangle hold on successful business is only going to get tighter. I will be done with school in two years, and at that time is our economy going to be in a position where starting up a new practice is going to still be a possibility. I wish I knew.
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