Graduate Spotlight

Timothy Jenks, Doctor of Philosophy in Natural Health
Bimaadiziwin: “The Good Life”

With two Michigan homes — in the city of Grand Rapids and the rural town of Comins — Clayton College doctoral graduate Tim Jenks is living the good life in every sense of the word. During the week his family can enjoy the beaches and state parks along Lake Michigan as well as botanical gardens and all the big-city cultural amenities. Tim is a college instructor and telecommunications analyst; his wife and youngest daughter are art students.

But when it’s time for true serenity, the Jenks know just where to go.

Up in the Northeast Lower Peninsula Northwoods region, Tim and Susan have painstakingly adapted and updated a cottage homestead that was originally a lean-to lumber shed! Now in its third generation of loving transformation, their energy efficient home away from home has been renamed “Serenity.” It is also the setting for Tim’s four-seasonal educational retreats, Healing Lifeways.

At Serenity they’ve planted an organic orchard of apple, pear, plum, cherry and crabapple trees, alongside juneberry bushes and a prolific vegetable/herb garden. Their neighbor, Susan’s cousin, raises organic livestock. Their farmlands border Huron National Park.

Tim is a lifelong learner whose diverse undergraduate studies led to triple majors in religion, mathematics and economics. His M.B.A. courses in public policy, accounting and information systems led him to work in several corporate and entrepreneurial professions: as a certified public accountant, in information technology development, as a college teacher and consultant.

His longtime interest in natural health “got personal,” he says, after a routine gallbladder operation in 1995 almost took his life. “Narrowly surviving something so out-of-control, I got more philosophical about the phases of life. By 1999 I decided that my next seven-year life cycle would be a totally different life.

“For many years I’ve taught undergraduate courses in business management and cultural diversity, and graduate courses in research methods and managerial accounting. Within campus settings whose quarterly classes last for six or seven weeks, and within semester systems whose classes last for 13 weeks, I can tell you that there’s a world of difference with Clayton’s self-paced independent studies.”

In 2006 Tim completed doctoral studies in natural health and truly transformed his life.

“Distance learning is ‘do-able’ and accessible. The student gets to decide whether to step right through a course or whether to linger with it and explore parts of their program much more deeply. Through studying traditional Chinese herbalism I have discovered the life-changing effects of T’ai Chi, which has become a real passion.

“My dissertation, Native American Wellness and Healing, led me to experience a vision quest and sweat lodge. We’ve now created a 72-foot medicine wheel at Serenity, with handmade prayer flags flying from all directions. Our retreats focus on creating sacred spaces with ceremony and ritual, based on Bimaadiziwin: which means ‘the good life,’” he adds.

Along with N.D. candidate Margaret Conklin, their Western Michigan CCNH student alumni group recently hosted a community education weekend in and around Grand Rapids, with Appalachian herbalist Darryl Patton, N.D. — who Tim met at our school’s natural health conference. Tim is also pleased to be teaching a new online course in 2008, “Healthy Living,” through a local college.

For more information: www.anargyrhealing.org

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This article was based on an interview with the graduate.

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