My name is Jessica Crowley and I am a 7th quarter student from Winchester, VA. I love being involved in activities around campus so I currently serve as the Vice President of Sherman’s Chiropractic Student Government (CSG), Vice President of the Animal Chiropractic Club on campus, and secretary of the Healthy Spines Club. A typical day in my life includes classes, club activities, planning meetings for CSG activities, and networking with local doctors for future shadowing opportunities or club guest speakers.
One of my favorite days of the week this quarter is Wednesday. It’s hump day, halfway through the week, and I’m feeling ready to tackle the day! My alarm goes off at 6:15 a.m., I get up to have a cup of coffee on my back porch while my two puppies clear the backyard of squirrels. I leave for school around 7:30 and spend the morning learning about x-ray positioning, pelvis and sacrum setups in technique class, and cardio diagnostics.
When the morning classes conclude I typically grab a coffee to get hype for our animal chiropractic club meeting at 11am. I love animals and am so excited to pursue a certification in animal chiropractic after graduating from Sherman. My two puppies, Pinecone and Basil, have my whole heart and have grown up under chiropractic care since I learned animal spines can subluxate too!
In our animal club meetings, we learn how to locate and analyze vertebral subluxations in animals as well as basic animal safety precautions, biomechanics of quadrupeds, and common causes of dysfunction in animal spines. After our meeting, I return home to let the fur babies outside and eat lunch.
At 1:00 I am back in classes learning about orthopedic testing, neurological tests, physical exam procedures, and lab diagnoses. The conclusion of classes for the day leaves me with an hour to study for upcoming tests and complete homework assignments before heading to a fellow student’s house for a night of additional analysis and adjustment setup practice.
We call this “community night” and have a ton of fun building community with students of all quarters who want to practice the same technique. Most technique clubs on campus have their own community night to practice the unique aspects of their respective techniques. Some clubs even travel to local offices for their community experience to see their favorite technique in action.
Community night lasts until about 6:30, after which I head home to take my dogs for a walk around my favorite park. Sometimes we sit outside at a local coffee shop to study following our walk, but usually we head home for dinner and study time. Depending on the course load of the week, evening study sessions can last anywhere from three to four hours. Bedtime concludes the day and I reset the alarm to do it all again in the morning!
