Graduate Spotlight
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Rhonda Sue Kiracofe, B.S. in Natural Health
“We Can Be Our Own Healers”
Of one thing Rhonda Kiracofe is certain. In 25 years of nursing, thousands of patients have demonstrated to her that, “Opening our minds to the inner voice is what leads us in the right direction. We need not depend on anyone else for our health and happiness. We have to take personal responsibility, 100%, for being our own healers.”
CCNH sees ample evidence that Rhonda does practice what we teach.
She has attended two of our school’s five health conferences, and also joined our recent educational travel series. Invigorated by spending time and sharing experiences with like-minded herbalists and other holistic practitioners, Rhonda believes that being a role model for natural health is the best gift she can give — to her family, friends, coworkers, patients, and herself.
“To be a successful lifestyle coach means to live the life that I espouse. The majority of illness is rooted in nutrition, lifestyle, and stress management. As a nurse I see an alarming number of heart attacks, and the patients get younger all the time. I address this with all members of the family, especially the children. The younger they begin striving for better health, the more successful they”ll be.”
Rhonda became interested in natural health in the 1990s, as she began planning her family. “I envisioned having a natural–born baby who wore cloth diapers and drank homemade organic apple and carrot juice. I wanted to teach life–long healthy options, from time management to exercise and relaxation. Our sanctuary is the outdoors — canoeing, living on a farm, and nurturing animal families as well as gardens and trees.
“The CCNH curriculum has been everything I could dream of, especially with the versatility of earning my B.S. in Natural Health and, now, shifting to holistic nutrition for my graduate studies”
Rhonda has earned nursing CEUs by attending the Clayton conferences and when her husband joined her on one of the herbal tours, “It all came to life for him. He was always totally supportive of the naturopathic lifestyle, but I think both of us were deeply touched by the sanctity of taking silent walks in nature, learning how to actually sense the energies of plants, breathe in and catch glimpses of their profound wisdom in sustaining our atmosphere as well as our nutritional needs.
“What keeps me coming back (to the CCNH gatherings) is the way that students are treated as equals, with respectful interaction and positive reinforcement. Each of us has things to teach as well as things to learn. I am thoroughly enjoying my studies, and look forward to continuing this work for many more years to come. My personal healing is coming in as a spiritual awakening. I feel led on this path of holistic health for the purpose of teaching and coaching others.
“I’ll always be a nurse,” Rhonda concludes, “but my approach to work is changing all the time as my knowledge grows. So much of the food–for–the–masses is devoid of nutrition or even unfit. Many healthcare providers have horrible diets and unhealthy lifestyles. Workers can’t eat a peaceful meal in only 15 or 20 minutes; that, alone, is stressful. I would like to have a positive impact in this area — and we all know that the way you learn to convey information, caringly, is as important as the information itself.”
This article was based on an interview with the graduate.
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