October 16, 2025 • 8 mins
Life University faculty, senior D.C. interns and global partners recently returned from a historic Chiropractic Awareness Mission Trip to Eldoret, Kenya. This impactful visit marks the next step in a growing partnership with the University of Eldoret, where plans are underway to launch East Africa’s first-ever chiropractic degree program. D.C. student John Lehman speaks on this impactful experience and other compelling experiences as the oldest D.C. student in Life U history.
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Episode Transcript
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S1 (00:30):
Hi guys. Welcome to another episode of Living Life I
love you. I am your host, Doctor Veronica Garcia, and
I am joined by another amazing member of our student population, Mr. John. Hi. Welcome.
How are you?
S2 (00:41):
I'm well, thank you.
S1 (00:43):
I'm so, so good. I'm so, so good. So happy
to have you here, John. You've been to the Kenya
mission trip. Oh my goodness. Before we go into the
details of that. So you're right at the last stretch
of becoming a chiropractor.
S2 (00:58):
Yes.
S1 (00:59):
Why chiropractic John.
S2 (01:02):
The story I tell is that I've been going to
chiropractors my whole life. It's seven. When my mom took me,
I had an epiphany or whatever you want to call it,
and I'm like, this is so cool. We go see
this guy, we lie on a table, he pushes on
our back and he gets paid.
S1 (01:21):
Mhm.
S2 (01:22):
50 years later, God made it happen. So now I
get to see little kids laying on the back and
I'm pushing and I get paid.
S3 (01:30):
I love that.
S1 (01:32):
And John you are what we call our non-conventional students.
So tell me this is a different career for you.
Tell me of what. What were you doing before this?
Before chiropractic?
S2 (01:43):
Um, 83. I joined the military.
S1 (01:46):
Um.
S2 (01:47):
I got out of the Navy at 92. Served on
the USS Missouri. Mhm. Um, I did some guard time.
Some reserve time for another eight years. Went to college,
got a couple, two, three, three degrees. Um, and then I, uh.
(02:09):
Then I joined the Army, okay. And went active duty.
Did three, four tours in support of our mission. Um,
I did that until I retired in 2015.
S1 (02:27):
Wow.
S2 (02:27):
And then, uh, I drove truck for 18 Wheeler for
six years, and, um, during that time, made, uh, found
out about VR, which is for veterans who are retired
and disabled. And so I got into the program and
(02:50):
I started at 57, and I graduate next year at 61.
S3 (02:55):
Look at you.
S2 (02:56):
And I am the oldest male student, I think, ever
at life.
S1 (03:02):
So that's amazing. John. We're so proud of you. Thank
you for serving this country. That is such an honor.
And it's an honor to and it's an honor to
see you and to work with you and to have
seen you grow and glow through your journey in chiropractic school. Yes,
of course you got to glow. So tell me, John, um,
what inspired you to go on a mission trip on
(03:25):
a chiropractic mission trip through Life University?
S2 (03:28):
Uh, because I hadn't been yet in the last four years.
Because I've been so in engrossed with my studies, um,
that I figured I had already been anticipating thinking about
going on one. But when Doctor Markham came into class
and said, oh, I just want to drop this little
(03:50):
bomb that we might be going on a mission trip.
I was like, Amen.
S3 (03:56):
I need to go. I know, that's beautiful.
S1 (03:59):
What did you do to prepare for a chiropractic mission
trip in Kenya.
S3 (04:03):
In.
S2 (04:03):
So many countries already, and flown across the ocean so
many different times? Yeah, mentally it wasn't like a big deal. Yeah,
I knew I had some good teammates and, um, I
knew Doctor Scott, only not personally, but I knew Doctor Russell,
and so I wasn't in any way, um, concerned per se. Um,
(04:30):
but I was really excited to go just because I
hadn't been to Kenya. And, um, it did not it
did not fail to provide. The first day we were
on the university and they were on break. So we
saw mostly the staff. There was some, uh, civilians, if
(04:52):
you want to call them that. And so 90 well,
probably 99% of everybody we saw had not seen a
chiropractor before.
S3 (05:01):
Yeah.
S2 (05:01):
So it was a good experience. Um, I think the
team saw, like over 400 people the first day.
S3 (05:10):
Wow.
S2 (05:11):
Um, and it was pretty awesome. And then, I mean,
we never well, we never failed to provide, but, um,
it was just it helped your adaptability to be at
four different locations, serving different people from different populations.
S1 (05:31):
Really?
S3 (05:31):
Awesome. That's.
S1 (05:32):
You planted the seed to start to start the healing
process of this nervous system, to start that adaptation process
of this nervous system. So that's such a beautiful and
honorable thing to have and to be. Um, tell me
about 1 or 2 experiences that you feel like they
shifted your development as a chiropractor.
S2 (05:53):
I was probably the only Team member who went, who
didn't have a solid technique under my belt, practiced and
all that stuff. But again, not again. But, um, TR
and Thompson would have been hard because there was a
lot of communication with that. And so I had to
(06:18):
I had to just pull a whole bunch of little
stuff together and throw it in my basket, and then
kind of went with that. So. It was an evolution
for me. So it wasn't like one person. So I
feel obviously a lot better about my, my basket technique.
S3 (06:41):
Yeah.
S2 (06:43):
That's awesome. My cervicals obviously are better now.
S3 (06:46):
Yeah.
S1 (06:48):
You've got your hands on a lot of people. 85 wow.
What a what a what an honor. What an honor
to serve all these individuals as a student, as students,
because you're shaping yourself into becoming my colleague, an extraordinary chiropractor,
serving whichever community you're going to end up in. And
you have the honor of serving 85 people in one week.
(07:11):
Tell me about your mindset going in. What were you thinking?
Expecting your mindset day one.
S2 (07:22):
How many people are going to show up?
S3 (07:25):
Mhm.
S2 (07:26):
What am I going to do. I kind of took
on the role of the student lead. So I kind
of was in the helping to plan stuff, although it
didn't necessarily always work out that way. Making sure that
we were all taken care of and and making sure
(07:46):
that we can take care of those who we were
there to take care of. So but once we got
rolling through the day, every day, it was like, okay,
another another spine. Another spine, another spine.
S1 (07:59):
So proud of you. Thank you. Thank you for serving
the people of Kenya. Thank you for showing up. Thank
you for saying yes. As soon as Doctor Markham threw
that bomb in that class and showing up like water.
Ready to adapt, ready to give, to serve, to love,
to do and to love. Thank you for being an
inspiration for everybody. We're so proud of you. And I'm
so excited to call you colleague in just a few months.
(08:22):
So absolutely.
S2 (08:24):
I'll be done. I'll be glad because I won't have
to take one more test.
S1 (08:28):
No more tests, no more tests. Good luck on the
rest of your quarter. Best of luck. I know that
it's ramping up with midterms. You're going to do amazing.
I am sure we're going to get to celebrate you afterwards.
So have a beautiful quarter. Be amazing. Thank you for
being here. Thank you. And we'll see you guys in
the next episode of Living Life Alive. You.
Hi guys. Welcome to another episode of Living Life I
love you. I am your host, Doctor Veronica Garcia, and
I am joined by another amazing member of our student population, Mr. John. Hi. Welcome.
How are you?
S2 (00:41):
I'm well, thank you.
S1 (00:43):
I'm so, so good. I'm so, so good. So happy
to have you here, John. You've been to the Kenya
mission trip. Oh my goodness. Before we go into the
details of that. So you're right at the last stretch
of becoming a chiropractor.
S2 (00:58):
Yes.
S1 (00:59):
Why chiropractic John.
S2 (01:02):
The story I tell is that I've been going to
chiropractors my whole life. It's seven. When my mom took me,
I had an epiphany or whatever you want to call it,
and I'm like, this is so cool. We go see
this guy, we lie on a table, he pushes on
our back and he gets paid.
S1 (01:21):
Mhm.
S2 (01:22):
50 years later, God made it happen. So now I
get to see little kids laying on the back and
I'm pushing and I get paid.
S3 (01:30):
I love that.
S1 (01:32):
And John you are what we call our non-conventional students.
So tell me this is a different career for you.
Tell me of what. What were you doing before this?
Before chiropractic?
S2 (01:43):
Um, 83. I joined the military.
S1 (01:46):
Um.
S2 (01:47):
I got out of the Navy at 92. Served on
the USS Missouri. Mhm. Um, I did some guard time.
Some reserve time for another eight years. Went to college,
got a couple, two, three, three degrees. Um, and then I, uh.
(02:09):
Then I joined the Army, okay. And went active duty.
Did three, four tours in support of our mission. Um,
I did that until I retired in 2015.
S1 (02:27):
Wow.
S2 (02:27):
And then, uh, I drove truck for 18 Wheeler for
six years, and, um, during that time, made, uh, found
out about VR, which is for veterans who are retired
and disabled. And so I got into the program and
(02:50):
I started at 57, and I graduate next year at 61.
S3 (02:55):
Look at you.
S2 (02:56):
And I am the oldest male student, I think, ever
at life.
S1 (03:02):
So that's amazing. John. We're so proud of you. Thank
you for serving this country. That is such an honor.
And it's an honor to and it's an honor to
see you and to work with you and to have
seen you grow and glow through your journey in chiropractic school. Yes,
of course you got to glow. So tell me, John, um,
what inspired you to go on a mission trip on
(03:25):
a chiropractic mission trip through Life University?
S2 (03:28):
Uh, because I hadn't been yet in the last four years.
Because I've been so in engrossed with my studies, um,
that I figured I had already been anticipating thinking about
going on one. But when Doctor Markham came into class
and said, oh, I just want to drop this little
(03:50):
bomb that we might be going on a mission trip.
I was like, Amen.
S3 (03:56):
I need to go. I know, that's beautiful.
S1 (03:59):
What did you do to prepare for a chiropractic mission
trip in Kenya.
S3 (04:03):
In.
S2 (04:03):
So many countries already, and flown across the ocean so
many different times? Yeah, mentally it wasn't like a big deal. Yeah,
I knew I had some good teammates and, um, I
knew Doctor Scott, only not personally, but I knew Doctor Russell,
and so I wasn't in any way, um, concerned per se. Um,
(04:30):
but I was really excited to go just because I
hadn't been to Kenya. And, um, it did not it
did not fail to provide. The first day we were
on the university and they were on break. So we
saw mostly the staff. There was some, uh, civilians, if
(04:52):
you want to call them that. And so 90 well,
probably 99% of everybody we saw had not seen a
chiropractor before.
S3 (05:01):
Yeah.
S2 (05:01):
So it was a good experience. Um, I think the
team saw, like over 400 people the first day.
S3 (05:10):
Wow.
S2 (05:11):
Um, and it was pretty awesome. And then, I mean,
we never well, we never failed to provide, but, um,
it was just it helped your adaptability to be at
four different locations, serving different people from different populations.
S1 (05:31):
Really?
S3 (05:31):
Awesome. That's.
S1 (05:32):
You planted the seed to start to start the healing
process of this nervous system, to start that adaptation process
of this nervous system. So that's such a beautiful and
honorable thing to have and to be. Um, tell me
about 1 or 2 experiences that you feel like they
shifted your development as a chiropractor.
S2 (05:53):
I was probably the only Team member who went, who
didn't have a solid technique under my belt, practiced and
all that stuff. But again, not again. But, um, TR
and Thompson would have been hard because there was a
lot of communication with that. And so I had to
(06:18):
I had to just pull a whole bunch of little
stuff together and throw it in my basket, and then
kind of went with that. So. It was an evolution
for me. So it wasn't like one person. So I
feel obviously a lot better about my, my basket technique.
S3 (06:41):
Yeah.
S2 (06:43):
That's awesome. My cervicals obviously are better now.
S3 (06:46):
Yeah.
S1 (06:48):
You've got your hands on a lot of people. 85 wow.
What a what a what an honor. What an honor
to serve all these individuals as a student, as students,
because you're shaping yourself into becoming my colleague, an extraordinary chiropractor,
serving whichever community you're going to end up in. And
you have the honor of serving 85 people in one week.
(07:11):
Tell me about your mindset going in. What were you thinking?
Expecting your mindset day one.
S2 (07:22):
How many people are going to show up?
S3 (07:25):
Mhm.
S2 (07:26):
What am I going to do. I kind of took
on the role of the student lead. So I kind
of was in the helping to plan stuff, although it
didn't necessarily always work out that way. Making sure that
we were all taken care of and and making sure
(07:46):
that we can take care of those who we were
there to take care of. So but once we got
rolling through the day, every day, it was like, okay,
another another spine. Another spine, another spine.
S1 (07:59):
So proud of you. Thank you. Thank you for serving
the people of Kenya. Thank you for showing up. Thank
you for saying yes. As soon as Doctor Markham threw
that bomb in that class and showing up like water.
Ready to adapt, ready to give, to serve, to love,
to do and to love. Thank you for being an
inspiration for everybody. We're so proud of you. And I'm
so excited to call you colleague in just a few months.
(08:22):
So absolutely.
S2 (08:24):
I'll be done. I'll be glad because I won't have
to take one more test.
S1 (08:28):
No more tests, no more tests. Good luck on the
rest of your quarter. Best of luck. I know that
it's ramping up with midterms. You're going to do amazing.
I am sure we're going to get to celebrate you afterwards.
So have a beautiful quarter. Be amazing. Thank you for
being here. Thank you. And we'll see you guys in
the next episode of Living Life Alive. You.
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