70 Graduates Honored in Commencement Ceremony
Monday, December 16, 2019
NUHS celebrated the achievements of 70 graduates during a
commencement ceremony December 13 in the Student Center at the
Illinois campus. Graduates took home diplomas in chiropractic,
naturopathic medicine, advanced clinical practice, acupuncture,
oriental medicine, biomedical sciences and massage therapy.

Dr. Joseph Stiefel and Dr. John
Scaringe
The ceremony featured guest speaker John Scaringe, MS, EdD, DC,
president/CEO of Southern California University of Health Sciences,
who was also awarded an honorary degree during the ceremony. Dr.
Scaringe began his career at Los Angeles College of Chiropractic
(LACC) as faculty in 1991 and has since served in various
leadership roles including as a member of higher education
accreditation teams.
He discussed the growing rate of preventable chronic illnesses
in the United States and the important role of NUHS graduates in a
health care landscape moving toward integrative medicine.
"What health care needs is National graduates," he said. "You
are the change the health care system craves."
Dr. John Scaringe, Featured Guest
Speaker
Valedictorians from each program delivered inspirational
speeches to their fellow classmates. Valedictorians included Brian
Davis, Doctor of Chiropractic; Sarah Abel, Doctor of Naturopathic
Medicine; Sobhana Vasan, Master of Science in Acupuncture; Tiffani
Becerra Alwazan, Master of Science in Oriental Medicine; Eva
Guzman, Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences; and Lisa Marie
Cadotte, Associate of Applied Science in Massage Therapy.
During her speech, Cadotte thanked her support group that
included family, friends, classmates and teachers. "I look forward
to staying connected with this community and future therapists,"
she said.
In his closing remarks, President Joseph Stiefel compared
graduates' academic journey to the hero's quest central to the Star
Wars movies.
"You have all been trained with the most powerful weapon known
to man: knowledge," he said. "You all have been made ready for
quite the adventure."

Graduate Class

Dr. Daniel Strauss and Joseph
Janse Award Winner, Sarah Montesa
Doctor of
Chriopractic
Alfred Alessi
Alysha Alonzo
Emily Arnold
Jennifer Baylor
Evan Beatty
Nathaniel Biegler
Spencer Brauchla
Miguel Bunker-Huertas
Arden Burch
Brian Davis
Stephen DeRosa Jr.
Kelly Dixon
Thomas Etue
Lauren Fairley
Robert Flannigan
Collin Gill
Yekaterina Grinchak
Latesa Guerra
Kelsie Herrera
David Kizior
Lauren Koopman
Anthony Kopp
Rachel Marr
Mikel Marshall
Kevin McGarry
Alicia Mienko
Daniel Mseih
Brion Nikitow
Farahnaz Niroumandpour
Amber Patteson
Anthony Petrarca
Ryan Pokrywka
Steven Pungello
Gregory Roytman
Shashank Saxena
Gretchen Schwarzbeck
Yevgenia Sippel
Anya Szigeti
Mark Vonder Embse
Marissa Wossner
Dustin Yoder
Doctor of Naturopathic
Medicine
Sarah Abel
Aaron Bardwell
Niecy Cameron
Joshua Cook
Cassandra Costa
Allison Durham
Kimberly Hubbard
Jennifer Egypt Iredia
Vivian Liranzo
Jinan Mahdi
Kristina Pravisay
Andee Stynchula
Gennea Williams
Nathan Woollery
Zachery Young
Master of Science in Advanced Clinical
Practice
Master of Science in Acupuncture
Master of Science in Oriental Medicine
Sarah Montesa
Sobhana Vasan
Tiffani Alwazan
Qi Stephanie Zhu
Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Sciences
Associate of Applied Science in Massage
Therapy
Certificate in Massage Therapy
Astrid Aguinaga
Liyna Demirel
Taylor Grant
Eva Guzman
Sumin Jun
Monserrat Malonson