18 students complete doctor of chiropractic program at Sherman College

Eighteen students from around the world received the doctor of chiropractic degree from Sherman College of Chiropractic in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on Saturday, June 20, 2015. The commencement was a shared ceremony for June and September 2015 graduates.

Nicole Marie Dearing of New York, recipient of the Milton W. Garfunkel Award, presented the farewell address to her classmates. The Garfunkel Award is the highest award given at graduation. Students receiving this honor must have a grade point average of 3.5 or above, and in addition, best exemplify those qualities Sherman College would like to inculcate in all of its graduates: love of the profession, an understanding of the philosophy, willingness to share, and service to the college and community.

Dearing also received the Academic Achievement Award. The Academic Achievement Award is given to the individual in each graduating class who maintains the highest grade point average throughout his or her studies at Sherman College.

The Clinical Excellence Award was presented to Lisa Alexandra Blanton of Michigan in recognition of her successful practice in the Health Center. This award is given to an intern who has diligently worked to develop skills in the art, science, and philosophy of chiropractic, maintained an “A” average in the clinical program, and exhibited superior overall clinical performance and professionalism.

The commencement address was given by John H. Porter, Jr., DC, a 1977 graduate of Sherman College of Chiropractic. Porter joined the college faculty in 1979 and is an associate professor of clinical sciences; he was a member of the college’s Chiropractic Health Center faculty from 1982-1985.

Porter teaches courses in Toggle Recoil and Full Spine. He received the Service to Sherman College Award in 1992 and was named Faculty Member of the Year in 1994. Porter has maintained a private practice in Spartanburg, South Carolina for the past 34 years, where daughter Princess Porter Fowler, DC, (also a Sherman College graduate) joined him in 2003.

Claudia E. Seay, DC, director of student clinics and a professor of clinical sciences at Sherman

College, delivered the charge to the graduates. She has been with Sherman College for 28 years and has served the college in many roles, including dean of clinics and lead faculty doctor.

She has coordinated the college’s Clinic Challenge Experience since its development in 2010. Seay has maintained a private practice, Everett Chiropractic Life Center, in Greer and currently Boiling Springs, South Carolina, since 1981.

Sherman College has honored her with the Distinguished Service Award in 1988 and the Spirit of Sherman College Award in 2005. She was named Faculty Member of the Year in 1999. In 2013 she was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Sherman College Chapter of the League of Chiropractic Women.

The doctor of chiropractic program at Sherman College requires students to complete more than 4,800 hours (14 quarters) of classroom and laboratory study and also includes an internship in the college’s on-campus Chiropractic Health Center. To enter the DC program, students must have at least 90 semester hours of college-level courses, including courses in the sciences.

Source: Sherman College of Chiropractic