Palmer College of Chiropractic

Photo gallery: http://www.palmer.edu/gallery/west_campus_grad_120310/index.html

Seventeen graduates received their Doctor of Chiropractic (D.C.) degrees at Palmer College of Chiropractic’s West Campus Fall Quarter 2010 commencement on Dec. 3 in the theater of the Santa Clara Convention Center.

Troy Holder (Spokane, Wash.) and Zach Brantner (Phillips, Wisc.) graduated as class valedictorian and salutatorian, respectively, with Magna Cum Laude (3.70-3.99) honors. Jessi Alexander (Mesa, Ariz.) and J. Zachary Stockton (San Francisco, Calif.) graduated with Cum Laude (3.50-3.69) academic honors. All four were also recognized for their selection as members to Palmer’s West Campus chapter of the Pi Tau Delta International Chiropractic Honor Society, the oldest and most distinguished honor society in the chiropractic profession.

Holder also earned the Virgil V. Strang Philosophy Award as well as the Clinical Excellence Award.

Selected by a faculty panel, the Virgil V. Strang Philosophy Award recognizes a deserving graduate for his or her “distinctive accomplishment and contributions to the philosophical principles of chiropractic as a student at Palmer College’s West Campus.”

The Clinical Excellence Award is presented to the graduate who has uniquely distinguished him- or herself during the internship portion of their educational experience at Palmer’s West Campus, and who has performed the tasks of the student doctor with exceptional proficiency in the following categories: patient diagnosis; chiropractic technique; radiography; and case management.

Brad Miller (Kaysville, Utah) received the Student Fellow Award. The recipient of this award is selected by members of the graduating class, and is presented to the individual whom the class feels has uniquely distinguished him or herself by their “unselfish service and dedication to the betterment of the Palmer experience.”

Alexander, Nicole Kilgo (Maple Lake, Minn.) and Scott Larson (Tokyo, Japan) received awards for serving as West Campus Guides. An all-volunteer organization, the Campus Guides at each campus serve as ambassadors of Palmer Chiropractic. They are frequently the first contact that many prospective students and campus visitors have with Palmer Chiropractic and the chiropractic profession.

Brantner and Garrett Neff (Belle Fourche, South Dakota) received special awards for their service as officers on the West Campus Sports Council.

Dr. Makani Lew, ’91, West Campus associate professor, presented the innovation. Dr. Randy Waters, West Campus associate clinical professor, read the names of the graduates, and Dr. Richard DeSarbo, associate professor, turned the hoods.

Dr. Richard Robinson, a ’96 West Campus alumnus, presented the commencement address. Dr. Robinson, who was instrumental in establishing the West Campus Sports Council as a student in 1994, is clinic director at Calgary Sports Therapy. He as a chiropractor on the Canadian Olympic Medical Teams of the 2006 Summer Games in Torino, Italy; the 2008 Summer Games in Beijing, China; and the 2010 Winter Games, which took place in Dr. Robinson’s hometown of Vancouver, B.C., Canada.