Hi, I’m Katie!
September 20, 2019
Welcome to my blog! My goal for this space is be to explain concepts of Oriental Medicine in terms that everyone can understand, and give practical solutions so that these concepts can be applied to your everyday life. First though, I want to give you the chance to become familiar with who I am, how I ended up in Hollister, and how I got to where I am now.
I grew up on the central Oregon coast, where I was a competitive swimmer for 15 years, my passion for surfing developed, and where I discovered my love for the outdoors. Little did I know, but I also met a guy here that I would end up marrying and starting a family with.
After high school, like many 18 year olds, I knew I wanted to go to college, but the idea of picking something that I would potentially be doing for the rest of my life was extremely overwhelming. My mind wandered from the sciences, the arts, political science…you name it, everything just seemed so interesting! I decided to go to a community college and explore my options. Here, I ended up gravitating towards the arts and received my associate’s degree.
With a degree geared towards the arts, I decided to enroll at Oregon State University to work towards becoming a Registered Dietician, a natural choice, right?! Still obviously undecided, but interested in health, science, and helping people, I was willing to finally commit to a path and declare a major. Through my coursework, I ended up taking a Public Health class and fell in love! I changed my major and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Health and Human Services, which ultimately paved the course for where I am today.
What exactly is Public Health you ask? Public Health in a nutshell is identifying areas in the community where there are issues that prevent people from living a healthy life, and working to find practical solutions. For example, access to healthcare for young mothers who are not getting the care they need because their responsibilities at home don’t allow time for themselves to go to the doctor. This work is done on many scales, from a community level to global.
This brings me to my journey to California. Remember me mention the guy I met in Oregon? Well, he lived in Hollister at this point, and so, to finish my BS, I moved to Hollister to intern at the San Benito County Public Health Department. Here, I did local health fairs, developed promotional materials, gave presentations, and participated in events that brought the community together to learn and become empowered about how to take charge of their health. This was it!
This is where I realized that I LOVE helping people to live healthy lives!
This is where I learned that everyone has a unique situation that presents obstacles specific to them, and that there is a solution that is unique to them too! This is my foundation. This is the root of my thinking as a practitioner to this day.
As my internship was going, I had a part-time job at the Hollister Youth Alliance working as a program leader. This helped me become familiar with the community, learn about the local culture, enjoy the kids and their families, take note of the strengths of the area, and to start identifying areas where there was need. Working these two jobs, living in Hollister and developing a solid social circle in this community landed my heart here.
After my internship, I started working with foster kids in Santa Cruz County who were aging out of the foster care system. My job was to help them transition into independent living. This was helping people to an extent that I had never experienced before on an incredibly deep and personal level. These young adults touched my heart in a way that is indescribable. This was the most rewarding work I had done by far. Even as I type this up, it brings tears to my eyes as I think about the challenges that these young people faced, and how strong they were to overcome them. Humans are so resilient, and this was a testimony to that fact.
As rewarding as my job was, I knew that I wanted to work in a career with a focus on health. My work experience let me know that I wanted to work with people on a personal level in a way that was unique to them and their needs. I just hadn’t found my answer yet.
There was a buzz going around the office where I worked about how a co-worker went to acupuncture for reoccurring headaches, and it helped her. So, I decided to see what this stuff was all about. At my first appointment I looked around the room, fascinated by the charts on the walls of the channels that acupuncture worked with. How did they figure this stuff out thousands of years ago? I had to know. I applied to acupuncture school the same week as my first appointment.
Oriental Medicine was my answer.
It is extremely person-specific, as is my approach to helping people that developed with my Public Health background. I had finally found it! I found the perfect career where I can help people with their unique health concerns in a way that is specific to them and their individual challenges! The rest is history. Now, I have my dream job.
That’s it. That’s my story.
My passion is helping people to live their best lives as unique as that picture may be for each person.
Oh yeah, while I was figuring out my career path, I got married to the love of my life and we have a 6 year old daughter who has made me an incredibly happy mama!