Tell me a little about your experience at LCL. What brought you to LCL?

I went to Divine Redeemer, an LCL feeder school, and was involved with Thunder Athletics, so it was an easy transition. I’m still close to the same friend group that I’ve had since 5th grade. When I get together with my friends, we often talk about time spent in football practice, between classes, doing other activities, and how much fun we had. The teachers were all super approachable and genuinely cared about everyone. It felt more personal than what you’d typically find in a public-school setting. When I run into my old teachers, they ask me about my family, each of my siblings, and they remember details that I had shared with them all those years ago.

Where did your interest in chiropractic come from?

I always wanted to follow in my mom’s footsteps, attend medical school, and become a doctor. But my mom was first diagnosed with cancer when I was in 8th grade. After going through treatment, she realized the healthcare system was a little broken and began to focus more on wellness instead of sickness. Her desire to shift to a more natural based practice sparked my interest, and that’s when I started to look into chiropractic.

How did the LCL family come alongside you in your goals?

Being a high school athlete and navigating my mom’s second cancer diagnosis during my junior year, I didn’t always take school super seriously. My football coach sat me down one day during my senior year and asked me if I had goals for after high school, and I realized I needed to make plans and start going after them. That’s just one example of how the teachers came alongside me to help me focus on achieving my goals. LCL also connected me to Dr. Shepherd, whom I work for now. I graduated from LCL the same year as his son, Sam. I didn’t know much about chiropractic care in high school, but it gave my mom some relief, mobility, and comfort while undergoing treatment. At that time, I started talking to Dr. Shepherd about the profession and process behind becoming a chiropractor.

What is it like working for an LCL alum family?

It’s been about a year of working with Dr. Shepherd, and it’s been great. There’s a lot of comfort in walking into a workplace knowing that your morals and worldviews align with your coworkers.

What’s the best part about working in chiropractic? What’s the most challenging part?

My favorite part is helping people who were initially apprehensive about chiropractic care and seeing them experience a drastic change in their health. I love influencing people to take action in their health in a different way. The hardest part is that we live in a quick fix society, and it can be frustrating because you wish you could’ve helped someone before they felt the need to pursue surgeries or other things.

What is the one thing you want people to know about you or your line of work?

As chiropractors, we strive to help people with muscular and spinal issues by looking to the root cause instead of treating the symptoms. Our bodies are an incredible design that relies on our nervous system to process all incoming and outgoing information to maintain balance. Our spine has the very important job of protecting the nervous system while allowing for stability and movement. We work with individuals of all ages, from birth to 100+, to maintain their spinal health so nerves can function without interference.