Sixty-three students from around the world received the doctor of chiropractic degree from Sherman College of Chiropractic in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on Saturday, December 15, 2018. The college’s 134th commencement was a shared ceremony for December 2018 and March 2019 graduates.
Christopher T. Chianese of New Jersey (December class) and Carlton Brandon Long of Tennessee (March class), recipients of the Milton W. Garfunkel Award, each presented a farewell address to 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.
Daniel Ryan Eldridge of New Hampshire (December class) and Long (March class) 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.
Chianese (December class) and Kayla A. Magni-Abeid of Ohio (March class) received the Clinical Excellence Award in recognition of their successful practices in the Health Center. This award is given to an intern in each class 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.
Christian Ivan Ortiz Torres of Puerto Rico and Danielle Lee Monroe of New York (both from the December class) and Katherine Lynn Gentile of Arizona (March class) received the B.J. Palmer Philosophy Distinction Award. This honor is given to outstanding students who exemplify the profound philosophical understanding necessary to translate the universal principles of life into the workable philosophy, science, and art which is chiropractic.
Sherman College Trustee and past Board Chair Peter J. Kevorkian, DC, gave the commencement address. Kevorkian is a 1982 graduate of Palmer College of Chiropractic and holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Tufts University. He teaches internationally on chiropractic philosophy, children and chiropractic, and family practice. He practices with his wife, Patricia A. Giuliano, DC, in Westwood, Massachusetts, in their home office; their patients are more than 30 percent children and they have more than 200 members who have been under regular care for 20-plus years.
Sherman College Assistant Professor of Clinical Sciences and Colorado native Tate Gentile, DC, delivered the charge to the graduates. A 2007 graduate of Parker College of Chiropractic, he helped pioneer a clinic with the Costa Rican Olympic Committee. Gentile developed a thriving family wellness cash practice in Fort Collins, Colorado, before moving to Spartanburg four years ago so his wife, Katherine Lynn Gentile, could attend Sherman College (she graduates with the March 2019 class). At Sherman College, Dr. Tate Gentile teaches classes in technique and instrumentation. In his role at the on-campus Chiropractic Health Center, he works with interns with a passion for sports chiropractic, and he regularly supervises their care of student athletes at nearby Spartanburg Methodist College.
The doctor of chiropractic program at Sherman College requires students to complete approximately 4,600 hours (14 quarters) of classroom and laboratory study and includes an internship in the college’s on-campus Chiropractic Health Center. To enter the D.C. program, students must have at least 90 semester hours of college-level courses, including courses in the sciences.
Sherman College of Chiropractic provides students with a comprehensive chiropractic education, preparing them to enter the field as doctors of chiropractic who are highly skilled, compassionate, ethical, and successful. On its 80-acre campus in South Carolina, Sherman offers a first professional degree program unique in its approach to health care and known globally for the skill and art of chiropractic delivered by graduates. For more information, visit sherman.edu or call 800-849-8771.
Source: Sherman College of Chiropractic
