Amy Gates – San Diego CA
Amy Gates came to Life West from San Diego, California. Amy had been working as an MRI tech for 11 years and was in search of a career that felt more meaningful and sustainable. Before that she had been in the military and then law enforcement. Her experience had taught her that service was a core value for her life. Yet she felt that her professional life was still not quite on the right track.
Like so many, Amy wanted purpose in her work. She longed for more human connection and interaction. While she loved the idea of working in health care, she was looking for a bigger idea of health than what she saw around her. Amy had the idea that she wanted to know her patients better. She saw her role as a health provider to be more of a “detective” in helping the patients find answers to their distinct health concerns.
Amy began looking for solutions outside the traditional model. She began seeing a chiropractor for her headaches. Under chiropractic care she not only had relief from headaches but also experienced an improvement in her overall quality of life. This experience led her to see active solutions for health care.
The next step was to take a health coaching class. Amy applied the principles and techniques from her class to her friends and co-workers. She watched the people around her become empowered and inspired to make changes to their lives. Amy loved the joy of helping others this way and wanted more. She knew it was time to arm herself with more knowledge and more education.
A Champion chiropractor referred Amy to Life West for a Champions Weekend. Once she came to campus and experienced the Life West “magic” she felt confident that she had found her home and her tribe at last.
Amy believes that inspiration is a journey, not an event. She is grateful to be on this journey as a new student in the Winter 2015 class at Life West.
Raymond Daniels – Reno NV
Raymond Daniels was planning to become a physical therapist. He took all the right classes and dedicated himself to his future. In his junior year of college he shadowed a PT as part of his coursework. This experience opened his eyes to the realities of the daily experience of the PTs who he shadowed. The team he worked with did not encourage him to follow in their footsteps. This was a shocker to Raymond.
As a long time chiropractic patient, Raymond had always had great experiences at his local chiropractic office. He had just never considered it as a career. He reached out to his chiropractor, who is a Life West grad. Dr. Rick (a Champion chiropractor) responded by taking him to lunch to discuss the history and the philosophy of chiropractic. As Dr. Rick explained why he had chosen chiropractic and how rewarding his experience in the field had been, Raymond saw a new pathway open up. He decided to become a chiropractor.
Raymond invited his fellow kinesiology majors to events like Career Nights and Champions Weekend. He not only changed his career path but created opportunity for his friends and classmates to see new options for their future. Raymond was responsible for referring over 20 prospective students to a career night event last year!
Raymond chose Life West for a few reasons. He had been told by many different chiropractors that Life West was the best. He came to a Champions Weekend and resonated with the community. He valued the balanced education and outstanding faculty. Raymond joined the student body of Life West in January 2015. He is looking forward to his bright future. He has found the career that will allow him to help people understand wellness and to improve their overall health.
We are so grateful for the work you do to find students like this!
