Thirty-nine students from around the world received the doctor of chiropractic degree from Sherman College of Chiropractic in Spartanburg, S.C., on Saturday, June 15, 2019. The college’s 135th commencement was a shared ceremony for June and September 2019 graduates.
Kathleen Marie Costello of Delaware (June class) and Heather Brooke Griewank of Indiana (September class), recipients of the Milton W. Garfunkel Award, each presented a 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.
Costello, along with Gilmarie Guzmán Negrón of Puerto Rico (both from the June class), and Griewank (September 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.
Carissa Supry of New Hampshire (June class) and Griewank (September 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.
Luiza Castro De Sa of Brazil and Costello (both from the June class) and Hirofumi Isobe of Japan (September 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.
Chiropractic icon and Sherman College supporter Irene Gold, RN, MA, DC, gave the commencement address. A New York native, Gold graduated from Columbia Institute of Chiropractic (now New York Chiropractic College) in 1974. She taught at several different chiropractic colleges for a number of years; her time at Sherman College included several years serving as academic dean. She established Irene Gold Associates in 1978; and has successfully prepared thousands of doctors for licensure since that time, including many Sherman College students and alumni. Sherman College named her Regent of the Year earlier this year.
Sherman College Assistant Professor of Clinical Sciences Christine Theodossis, DC, DCCJP, delivered the charge to the graduates. A 2010 Sherman College graduate and a native of Asheville, N.C., Theodossis practiced in Canton, N.C., prior to joining the college faculty. She earned the International Chiropractors Association’s Diplomate of Chiropractic Craniocervical Junction Procedures (DCCJP), a 300-hour postgraduate certification, in 2015. She serves as a director for the ICA Council on Upper Cervical Care as well as co-chair of its Nominating Committee, and she was recently appointed to the Diplomate Examination Board. Sherman College honored her with the Spirit of Sherman College Award in 2018.
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 DC program, students must have at least 90 semester hours of college-level courses, including courses in the sciences.
About Sherman College of Chiropractic
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.
