Despite being able to lay claim to a professional history that includes 10 years on active duty with the United States Air Force, Licensure as a Practical Nurse, a Bachelor’s degree in Professional Human Services, a Master’s degree in Public Health as well as, certifications from both the Mayo Clinic on Tobacco Treatment and Intervention and Stanford University’s Education Research Center on Chronic Disease Self-Management, I still felt as though a vital piece of the puzzle was missing in both my professional and personal life.

I currently work as the Director of Health Education at a community-based health center in the South Bronx, one of the poorest Congressional District in the United States. Making a positive impact on the lives of the people that I have been entrusted to serve has always been paramount. In retrospect, I now understand that Whole Health Education was that missing link.

The knowledge that I have gained from the Whole Health Educator program at NIWH has allowed me to take inventory of what I bring to the interactions that permit positive change to take place in others and has also helped me to gain a fresh perspective on the never-ending capacity of humanity to “overcome” despite all odds. In my eyes, Whole Health Education is the ideal model for the health care system of the 21st century. I offer the poem below as a profound reflection of my voyage through the program this year.”