Holla Back Y’all
Oh, the Places You’ll Go….
Chiropractic can take you places you’ve never dreamed
Mike Hollerbach, DC Student
Eighth quarter student Ron Sweeney reflects on his time here while living life to the fullest. He is currently in student clinic and is a stunning example of living a life passionately with the goal of improving tens of thousands of lives through chiropractic. He is a leader in many aspects. He is currently the president of the World Congress of Chiropractic Students on campus and has been involved in numerous club,s including student council and Innate Enterprise. Ron is a committed believer in “straight chiropractic” and plans to focus his future practice on upper-cervical techniques.
If you had told me before I came to Life that I would travel the world because of being a chiropractic student, I never would have believed you. Granted, I grew up as a military brat, so I’ve seen my share of the world. And having lived in Germany and Japan, I’d already crossed Europe and Asia off my “Bucket list” of visiting all the continents.
So many things happened last year. 2011 was a big year, and let me tell you why. As you may or may not know, it started off with a bang—some called it the “Snowpocalypse,” others preferred “Snowmageddon.” Whatever you decided to call that laughable two inches of snow, Life canceled the entire first week of school, effectively turning our three-week break into four weeks. I don’t know what everyone else did with their extended break, but I took up Robert Love’s invitation to go skiing with a group of friends in West Virginia, and that first road trip set the tone for my year. Two weeks later, I was in New Jersey at New Beginnings, a life-changing seminar where I met Dr. Chris Taylor, one of Centro Quiropráctico Schübel’s “Chiropractic world domination masterminds.” His moving presentation on the substantial need for chiropractic in Central and South America inspired me to go on my first mission trip. By the end of January, I had already committed to going to Brazil for two weeks, as I had been selected to represent Life University at the World Congress of Chiropractic Students in Rio de Janeiro, (the mission trip was conveniently scheduled the week leading up to that Congress, so how could I not go?)
With my year already off to such a spectacular start, I had to keep the momentum up. About a month later, I hit the road once again with Robert Love and crew. This time, our destination was the ICA Symposium on Natural Fitness and Sports, held in Columbus, Ohio. In addition to getting to meet ICA president, Gary Walsemann, I had the opportunity to get pictures taken with celebrity chiropractic advocates Lou Ferrigno and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Surprisingly, those road trips paled in comparison to what lay in store for me in April.
Rio de Janeiro is stunningly beautiful. Majestic mountains climb right out of the ocean and brightly colored houses scramble high up onto the cliffs. But for all its picturesque scenery, there is a huge disparity between the haves and have-nots. The touristy resort hotel where I would experience my first World Congress of Chiropractic Students session bore a stark contrast to the favelas (slums) where our mission trip was serving the residents. Interestingly enough, the same can be said for the different aspects of chiropractic. In school, we learn a lot about textbook scenarios and diagnostic protocol, but our patient interactions can be very choreographed. This is particularly true in student clinic, where many patients have been handed off between interns quarter in and quarter out, and have become more or less “professional patients.” Being able to take part in a community’s first experience with chiropractic is an amazingly powerful moment. Also powerful, but in a much different way, was seeing the product of chiropractic education from schools around the world in the form of the international delegates we met at WCCS.
It’s my opinion that everyone should go on a mission trip at least once while they’re in school – ideally, beginning a habit of going once a year. The United States has the most chiropractors of any country in the world, and it’s an awfully big world. Make friends around the globe and start your own team of chiropractic world domination masterminds.
Because of my decision to become a chiropractor, I’ve been able to talk the tic while drinking from a coconut as waves crashed on a moonlit beach, ride a tandem bicycle across the Golden Gate Bridge, shake hands with the Governator, and make a fool of myself in front of hundreds of strangers while under hypnosis – and those are just last year’s highlights. This year, I won’t be doing quite as much traveling, but San Francisco and Australia are coming soon, with plans for South Africa next spring. Ultimately, you can’t wait until after you graduate to start living. While all the effort you put into your schooling is incredibly important, don’t forget to add experiences outside the classroom to your time at LIFE. Don’t neglect lowercase life. And as BJ Palmer said, “We never know how far-reaching something we may think, say, or do today will affect the lives of millions tomorrow.”
