If you haven’t read Rebecca Bell’s prior blog introducing the DC2017 conference, be sure to check it out here.
DC2017 is the premier conference for the chiropractic profession that includes compelling scientific research and inspirational speakers form the profession. This year it was hosted by the American Chiropractic Association (ACA), the World Federation of Chiropractic (WFC) and the Association for Chiropractic Colleges (ACC).
At the conference there are countless networking, scholarship and professional development opportunities for students like me to take advantage of. I was able to attend the event this year with the UWS Student American Chiropractic Association (SACA) club, the student representation of the ACA. Read on for more of the highlights of the conference and what to look forward to next year.
- Networking opportunities.
I had the privilege of meeting some of the best chiropractic physicians in the world at this conference, including Dr. Heidi Haavik, who is currently the leading neurophysiology researcher in the chiropractic profession. The UWS SACA public relations representative, Darcy Ogloza, met with Dr. Haavik and helped facilitate her gracious gift to all attendees from UWS with signed copies of her book, “The Reality Check”. I highly recommend reading it, if you haven’t already! She even signed a copy for our campus library.
Chiropractic students would not have the opportunity to meet some of these amazing doctors if it weren’t for gatherings like this conference. I also met three doctors who work in different parts of the world that are willing to let me shadow them and I have DC2017 to thank for this amazing career opportunity. My peers who also attended the conference made similar connections with doctors who they are interested in shadowing and learning from too. We also connected with other students from different chiropractic institutions and those are some of the most valuable connections I will ever have. I have made some of my very best friends through these interactions.
- Scholarship opportunities.
The scholarship opportunities available to students at gatherings like DC2017 are extremely valuable. I am so grateful to announce that I was the recipient of one of these scholarships. I applied for the Standard Process scholarship, which was available to chiropractic students that would be present at DC2017. Out of 26 applicants, I was chosen as one of four recipients to receive a $2,500 scholarship. I was shocked and grateful, to say the very least.
To be awarded such a generous amount of money to help ease the financial burden of graduate school was a tremendous experience. I would not have had the opportunity to be eligible for this scholarship had I not attended this conference. People do not always realize that there are amazing opportunities available for conference attendees such as the Standard Process scholarship.
- Challenging contests.
Another amazing opportunity this conference provided was a contest challenging SACA members to see who could get the most signatures on the Medicare Equality Petition. I was also lucky enough to win the top prize for this contest and was awarded $500. These are opportunities I wish everyone took advantage of and are just another thing that makes me excited to attend these conferences and be involved with SACA.
- Public speaking practice.
The fourth opportunity from attending DC2017 is the chance to improve my public speaking skills and confidence when discussing the chiropractic profession with not only legislators, but with anyone. We do not get many chances while in school to work on these skills, and I think they are so valuable. I had the opportunity to run a task force to amend a SACA bylaw this year and presented it to more than 100 of my peers at the business meeting. It was a unique experience to expand my public speaking skills due to my involvement with SACA.
In the UWS SACA chapter, we have members of our executive board that sit on national committees as well. Nikki Daskal and Rachel Frontain were both involved with national SACA committees, which requires a fair amount of public speaking. Additionally, we have executive board elections coming up for SACA, so if anyone is interested in this or the other opportunities I have written about, I urge you to run for a position or become more involved with SACA on campus!
I hope this answers questions about the DC2017 experience or involvement with UWS SACA. I am passionate about this organization because I think the progression of our profession is of the utmost importance.
Special shout out to all the other students that made the investment in their future by attending DC17 with UWS: Nikki Daskal, Rachel Frontain, Urvi Khare, Darcy Ogloza, Kathryn Knox-Baker, Katie Kanda, Cassandra Hoy, Rebekah Wilks, Valerie Kovach, Taylor Kerschner, Krystal La Plante, Eddie Lee, Bryan Lo and Christeen Perkins.
