Over 225 alumni, staff, students, and friends of the college attended Life's Homecoming and Festival '96 at the Claremont Resort & Spa on Oct. 19th.
Dr.
Abigail Irwin, DC, CCSP, DACBSP, Life West's "1996 Alumna of the Year."
Dr. Irwin has served on the postgraduate faculty at Los Angeles College of Chiropractic, and Northwestern College of Chiropractic. Her practice is in Oakland, California, where she specializes in treating sports injury, especially those of women athletes. She has contributed a chapter to the forthcoming book, The Conservative Management of Sports Injuries.
Dr. Irwin treated Panamanian Olympic athletes at the Summer Games in Atlanta. "Not all countries have resources like the U.S. to provide medical 'dream teams' for all their athletes' medical needs," explained Dr. Irwin about her involvement with the Panamanians. "We were recruited to volunteer our services to their athletes."
She related the story of an African runner who injured his knee. The runner didn't think he could compete, and the prognosis was for surgery. He sought chiropractic care the next day. "He was running fine and smiling a lot," Dr. Irwin recalled, and he brought in several of his teammates for chiropractic evaluations.
Student of the Year
Steven Funk, "LCCW's Student of the Year."Steven Funk, a Life West junior intern, was selected by the Alumni Association as LCCW's "1996 Student of the Year," based on his solid academic standings and the numerous contributions he has made to the community, chiropractic profession, and the college.
Steven has previously been given awards for "Chiropractic Excellence," and a "Certificate of Merit" from Life West's Student Council.
Steven is an active member and organizer of several campus organizations, including the Christian Chiropractic Club, which he founded and served as president for four quarters. He is also a non-commissioned officer in the California Air National Guard, which involves serving 100 days a year. He has been a reservist for almost nine years and is stationed with the 129th Search and Rescue Squadron at Moffett Air Field.
Student Council Elections
The students at Life West have elected an all-California student council. Officers for fall, winter and spring term are:- President: Jeff Tosch (El Cajon), a junior, is married with children. He learned of chiropractic from receiving care from his physically demanding work in construction. He still does drywall on a part-time basis.
- Vice President: Joseph Musich (Hillsborough), a junior, has a BA in art and spends time volunteering with youth groups.
- Secretary: Felisa Pham (Hayward), a sophomore, was born in Vietnam and moved to Winnipeg, Canada before coming to California six years ago. She has a BA in psychology, and is co-founder of United States for Chiropractic, a school club that assists in bringing seminars to students at a reasonable fee.
- Treasurer: Jan Wesdorf (Walnut Creek), a senior, hails from a chiropractic family. Her father, Allen, practices in Pleasant Hill; her uncle, Don, practices in Walnut Creek.
Los Angeles College of Chiropractic
Toys for Tots and Food DriveThe Whittier Chiropractic Health Center on the LACC campus was a drop-off point for the U.S. Marine Corps' annual Toys for Tots, Nov. 26 through Dec. 13. The health center also sponsored a food drive through Dec. 31st.
People who brought a new, unwrapped toy(s) or nonperishable food items (valued at $10 or more) to the center received a complimentary chiropractic examination and treatment.
LACC's health centers in Glendale and Pasadena also participated in the holiday donations.
Cleveland Chiropractic College, Los Angeles
CCCLA Interns Screen Student MarathonersOn November 2nd, Cleveland Chiropractic College Los Angeles (CCCLA) interns gave screening examinations to over 400 youngsters participating in the Students Run L.A. marathon. The event began with six students in the Los Angeles Unified School District in 1987 running a marathon with their teacher; it has since expanded to over 1,000 participants. Children in the program, aged 9-19, run a full marathon distance (26.2 miles).
Jamie Bassel, Gregory Vanvakaris, Stephen Shaw, and Robert Patterson organized and coordinated this year's exams. Full-time clinical faculty supervised 64 interns from trimesters 9-10, and 52 students representing trimesters 1-8.
"This program was an outstanding public service, offering screening exams for participants who otherwise might have had none," said Dr. Michael Birozy, clinic director. "I am also proud of the number of faculty and students who volunteered their time to make this event a success."
Who's Who
Three teachers at Cleveland L.A. have been selected to appear in Who's Who Among America's Teachers:- Dr. Carol Claus, chair of the chiropractic sciences department and 1988 CCCLA graduate.
- Dr. Ted Marcus, assistant professor.
- Dr. Stephan Mayer, associate professor and 1986 CCCLA graduate.
Twenty-six Cleveland L.A. students have been named to Who's Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities:
| Michael Pangelinan | Tamara Bonza |
| Branda Hibly | Wendy Leventhal |
| Ji Lee | Rafael Rios |
| Anthony Werbelow | Martha Garcia |
| Gagik Alvandy | La Rita Gibson |
| Luke Cohen | Michael Dorausch |
| Radu Ioan | Gun-Hun Kim |
| Johnny Mansour | Jeanne Ames |
| Danielle Tompkins | Jamie Bassel |
| John Bergman | Leticia Chavoya |
| Orit Chavoinik | Amy Andrews |
| Jeremy Eisenstein | Thomas Reed |
| Gregory Vanvakaris | Fateh Badr |
Alumnus Wins CCA Award
When the California Chiropractic Association (CCA) presented its 1996 awards, recent CCCLA graduate, Jeff Danielson, was named 1996 "Chiropractic Student of the Year." He was chosen for his outstanding service to the student body, to the profession, and for attaining a high level of personal achievement. The awards are presented annually to CCA members and CCA chiropractic societies.Dynamic Chiropractic editorial staff members research, investigate and write articles for the publication on an ongoing basis. To contact the Editorial Department or submit an article of your own for consideration, email
.