Lexi Wright ’18
By Katherine Waters
This article appeared originally in the Fall 2018 issue of Frontiers Magazine.
Lexi Wright, who graduated SMC in May, is the first student to enroll in SMC’s transfer program with Sherman College of Chiropractic (Spartanburg). She will start courses toward a Doctor of Chiropractic degree in October.
“I first started at SMC as a business major and didn’t really know what direction I wanted to take,” Wright says. “After a semester I realized that chiropractic is something I wanted to pursue. So I talked to my adviser, Dr. Gibbs, and he told me that they had the program, and if I was interested I could start the next fall following the plan.”
Wright will complete 14 quarters, or 31/2 years, before receiving a doctoral degree. The transfer agreement shaves a year off of the total time that a student is in school, saving money and allowing them to begin practicing in states that do not require bachelor’s degrees, including South Carolina.
Although the majority of SMC students attend for only two years, a student in the Sherman transfer program must complete three years to obtain the 90 prerequisite hours. Wright says that it wasn’t difficult to add on one more year at SMC.
“I only had to take two classes during my third year as prerequisites for Sherman, and the rest of my schedule was filled up with more enjoyable classes. I took some art classes and really enjoyed the third year. I felt older than all of the other students, but I really got along with the staff and made good relationships with them.”
Tarsha Hamilton, Assistant Director of Enrollment Services at Sherman, believes that the chiropractic field is becoming more popular among students in health care.
“People want less invasive methods, something more holistic versus taking medications,” says Hamilton. “I think some students are attracted to the chiropractic field because they start with preventive health so that the body can heal itself and function at its very best.”
For any future SMC students who are interested in chiropractic, Wright emphasizes that they should understand that the workload is heavy. “It’s a lot of science classes,” she says. “I know a lot of students want to get their required classes knocked out, but they need to know that they’re going to have to work hard in those classes.”
As the first SMC student to participate in the transfer agreement, Wright wants to set a precedent for future students and help to make the program more popular. Now that one student has led the way, SMC may anticipate a larger number of students bound for the medical field taking the more streamlined route to a Doctor of Chiropractic Degree.