S A B C A F E AT U R E
Aaron Vinson Life
University D.C. Student and
SABCA Member
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Aaron
Vinson
Currently, there are
nearly 50 members
in the Life University
SABCA chapter,
which equates to
approximately one-
third of the D.C. student
population at the
University that identify
as black.
Aaron Vinson, an eighth quarter student at
Life University, was the president of the Student
American Black Chiropractic Association (SABCA)
at LIFE for the past year, as his term recently came
to an end. He was also recently elected as Eastern
Student Regional Representative at this past
summer’s ABCA National Convention. Originally
from Fayetteville, North Carolina, Vinson’s only
familiarity with Chiropractic growing up was
knowing that his mother had gone to one as a kid
following an accident. He never once considered it
as a career choice though, not until he received an
opportunity to shadow Dr. Dennis Royal, who just so
happened to be a LIFE alumnus.
“My last semester of Undergrad, I was looking at
things I wanted to do,” explains Vinson. “I knew I
wanted to be in health care like my mother. She’s a
nurse. My main two options at the time were looking
at Physical Therapy and Chiropractic.”
After shadowing Dr. Royal, Vinson fell in love with
the profession and was encouraged to check out
LIFE. “I went to a LIFE Leadership Weekend, and I
was pretty much sold,” says Vinson on his choice to
move to Marietta to pursue his D.C. degree.
What Vinson didn’t know before making his
decision to attend LIFE though was that his mother
had a connection with the mother of a current
student studying Chiropractic at the University,
Leondra Holmes. Vinson connected with Holmes
soon after he got to campus and started hearing a
lot of good things about a campus organization that
Holmes was a part of, SABCA. Vinson liked what he
heard and got on board quickly by joining as a new
member, attending meetings and getting more and
more active with SABCA’s leadership. Soon enough,
he was elected president of LIFE’s SABCA chapter
in 2017.
“There was just a confidence and assurance that I
could see people who looked like me in the school
who were upper quarter and advancing toward a
degree,” explains Vinson on the impact that SABCA
had on him as he began his journey in LIFE’s
College of Chiropractic. “Now, it’s just given me
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the confidence to know that I will be successful.
Meeting other doctors that look like me through
ABCA and seeing their practices and how successful
they are — it’s shown me that the goals I want in life
can be accomplished.”
Vinson mentions meeting with other doctors,
and those networking and relationship-building
opportunities being key perks of SABCA
membership for students at LIFE. “I just think it’s
always strength in numbers. We keep spreading
our wings and speaking with other doctors to learn
different experiences,” remarks Vinson.
SABCA hosts events each year that increase chances
to network with African-American doctors, such as
their bi-annual Dinner with the Docs where they
host anywhere from five to 10 doctors on the LIFE
campus. “We eat and get to know each other and
have a doctor-student panel to close out the night,”
says Vinson.
The biggest event of the year for SABCA at LIFE is
their Black History Gala held every February, which
is used as a fundraiser so that the organization
can attend the ACBCA National Convention. “We
will come up with a theme each year for the gala,”
explains Vinson. “In 2017, it was 70’s attire, and
this year we had a black tie affair. We include some
kind of black history in Chiropractic or black history
in general during the festivities. Then, we invite a
practicing chiropractor to be our keynote speaker.
There is dinner, dancing and fun, all while learning
some history in the same night.”
In addition to the networking opportunities SABCA
provides its members, Vinson also sees how getting
involved with the University’s SABCA chapter and
the national ABCA can ultimately help Chiropractic
become an even more mainstream healthcare
option for the masses, including the African-
American community. “It starts with growing as a
student base, so we can grow the profession,” says
Vinson. “When we grow the profession, we’ll grow
the African-American community that’s under
chiropractic care. I think they all go hand-in-hand.”