Call 303.329.6355 to inquire about becoming a Student at CSTCM.

Q: What brought you to CSTCM?

I was always interested in acupuncture and Chinese Medicine from about 20 years ago when I was in high school and I first had a interaction with it when I took a trip to China with our high school and didn’t know anything about it growing up in Nebraska.  And then it just kind of came to me is almost a calling.

I had gone through  a pregnancy where I had acupuncture to help my first son turn from breech back to heads down, and then during my second pregnancy had acupuncture done to help induce labor because he was late and it was successful and just decided then that it’s something I really wanted to look into and be a part of.  And then when I found out the school was so close to my home it made perfect sense so I applied and became a student.

Q: We understand you are currently working too? What do you do?

I teach Pilates. I started teaching I have been teaching Pilates for 13 years and I when I started at the program I was teaching about 20 hours a week.  Now I’m only teaching about 10 to 12 hours a week due to my work schedule, my school schedule, my family schedule so trying to shift it around.

Q: Where are you in the program?

I am in my eighth term so I have seven months from yesterday until the graduation, and so I’m almost done, and I’m the herbal program so it’s a lot longer than the non herbal program but definitely worth it.

Q: What has been your experience with faculty, staff and administration?

Everyone’s great.   I love this school. I love learning.  I love all of our supervisors in clinic. I feel like I learned so much every day that I feel like my mind is gonna explode by the end of the day it’s so hard sometimes to process everything I learn,  and I’m constantly feeling like there’s just not enough time to learn this medicine. I try to take notes all the time but there’s just so much amazing information that I’m trying to take in all the time

But it’s great I’ve had a great experience.

Q: What do you like best about CSTCM?

Well obviously for me especially the convenience it’s so close to my house it’s easy to get around.  There’s restaurants right here, coffee shops, everything. The location is really convenient for me.

The program  is challenging and it’s hard, but I think it’s realistic.  My husband and I joke a lot that this is the ultimate cram session because there’s so much to learn it’s a short amount of time, but I do feel like you do get what you need and then some, and it just encourages you to explore more once you get done with school, and I never thought I would really love the herbal program as much as I do.

I feel like there’s so much knowledge from our teachers that we really do help people.

Q: What has your experience been like working in the Student Clinic?

Student Clinic is fun.  I mean you finally get to put everything to use.  I catch myself in the morning trying to tell my kids as we’re hurrying out the door like I got to get to work – I mean clinic – school.  It’s not work, but it is work and soon it will be my work and it’s fun.

I was having a hard time getting down here because a patient I just had as a close family friend and I feel like we’re really making a difference, in her and she needs a lot of help and support and I feel like were the right people for her to help with all that she has coming on,  and just fun to see the change in people and to really feel like you’re you’re doing good.

You’re… the chances of having such a diverse patient experience here.  I mean you’re never you’re probably never going to have the same kind of patient experience in your own clinic that you do here.  We have such a diverse patient base due to our location and our price point and the ability that we can reach out to the community and I think that that’s huge because so often you’re not going to see some of the cases we see upstairs.

You know, with patients that are on 50, 75 different medications and have a lot of things going on and we’re able to help them and treat them whereas you know you’re going to get yourself into a specific section that you’re gonna see only a certain kind of patient once you get done with school, but here you see everyone you see pain,  you see I don’t know stomach stuff… everything across the board.

Q: What do you like about the location of the school?

I grew up not too far from here spent a lot of time in Denver and this is a great location. Obviously it’s one of the hottest cities in the United States right now. You’re near City Park which is very convenient.  nice to go take a walk. The neighborhood is easy to walk around.

It’s easy to get around there’s lots of restaurants coffee shops, the Botanical Garden.  Yes, you’re not far from Cherry Creek, you’re not far from downtown.

Q: How do you try to balance the demands of school with your personal and work life?

Well my husband tells me all the time he can’t wait to hear me not say I have to study, because it’s a big part of our life right now, of me having to study,  and we have two kids married I work. My husband works full-time it’s busy and it’s hard to find a balance, but you have to be realistic of like it’s a very small time in your life of being in school,  and I have you know, many many years ahead of me but it’s a constant challenge. It’s a weekly battle of like where I need to be in school what I need to be focusing on. What my kids need and just being realistic about how things are.

Q: Would you recommend this school?

Oh yeah,  absolutely I would recommend this school.  it’s a great school, We have great faculty we have great teachers – people that really want to teach the medicine.  People that really love the medicine and there’s a lot of students here that really love what they’re doing.

Right now I really love and appreciate what an amazing education we’re getting right now and it’s a great city and we have so many opportunities people want to be here we have such an open community of people that are interested in alternative medicine and Chinese medicine.