April 2004

WCA, CBS present scholarships to Life students

by Sonja M. Parham

Each Thursday at 11 a.m., Life University students attend CPAP 1104, or Chiropractic Seminar. Normally, before the prominent guest speakers are introduced, the meeting starts with announcements. This day, however no announcements were scheduled. The hallway monitors simply made note of a "Special Presentation" to be made at Seminar.

That special presentation was the awarding of two scholarships endowed jointly by the World Chiropractic Alliance (WCA) and Chiropractic Benefit Services (CBS). These two scholarships are the "Young Researcher Award" and the "Excellence Award." After following the criteria for each award, the submission that best meets the requirements of the scholarship is selected by members of the WCA Board.

Matthew Eisen and Dr. Heather Whittle present the Young Researchers Award to Sharon Graddy (Photo credit: Guy Delama, Life Univ.)

Students enrolled in CLIN 5114, (Case Study), and members of the Student World Chiropractic Alliance (SWCA) chapter at Life University are eligible for the "Young Researcher Award." Following the standard guidelines of the course, the student must prepare a case study suitable for publication in a peer‑reviewed journal. Of the case study papers submitted for consideration, the case study prepared by Sharon Graddy was selected for the honor. Graddy received a scholarship in the amount of $500.

Sonja M. Parham, Matthew Eisen, and Dr. Whittle present the Excellence Award to Marsha Austin. (Photo credit: Guy Delama, Life Univ.)

All active members of the SWCA chapter are eligible to apply for the "Excellence Award." Each applicant of this scholarship must respond to a particular question or issue. For this particular award, applicants were required to write a 1,000 word essay that addressed each of three aspects of the topic relating to the preservation of subluxation‑based chiropractic, an examination of the WCA and its work past and present, and the author's suggestions for the future. The winning essay was written by Marsha Austin, who received a $1,000 scholarship.

In attendance for the presentation and representing the WCA was chapter field advisor, Heather Whittle, D.C. The emcee for the presentation was chapter President Matthew Eisen. As past president, I joined Eisen in hosting the ceremony before the near‑capacity audience. The presentation was complete with a PowerPoint slide show and super‑sized checks. The Life students and faculty were enthusiastic and warmly congratulated the honored students before welcoming guest speaker, Diane Tellier, D.C.

Life University is home to the largest SWCA chapter.