By Lawrence J. Ryan, Ph.D.
The fall term is a time of optimism, energy and renewal as faculty and students begin a new cycle of teaching and learning in our classrooms and clinic consultation rooms.
The mood at Yo San University is exciting, and every inch of our building is buzzing with activity. With our entering class of 31 fresh and eager new faces combined with our returning learners, we have reached a record enrollment figure of 155 students.
Now that Labor Day has passed all the trappings of academia pervade the YSU campus. A walk down the halls provides scenes of instruction, demonstration, inquiry, bookstore browsing, numerous faculty-student and student-to-student interactions, quiet and synchronous movements in Qi classes and reflective study in the library.
All of those scenes cumulate to provide the basis for the development of effective and responsible healers and the foundation for sound professional practice that will endure for years and will be passed on in turn to subsequent generations of aspiring healers.
The 2009 fall trimester at Yo San will be a memorable one. Besides the dozens of scheduled academic and Qi courses, this fall term will also mark the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the founding of YSU. The celebration will culminate in an October 15th celebrity-studded gala fund raising event to be held at the Beverly Hills home of Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman. The regular ticket price to the event is $350, but it only costs $100 for Yo San students and faculty members. It will be a Chinese themed event with lots of fun and the inaugural presentation of the annual Robert Graham Visionary Award.
Another “must” event for the fall 2009 trimester is the Founder’s Seminar scheduled for Saturday October 31 and Sunday November 1. Both Dr. Dao and Dr. Mao will lead the YSU academic community and other distinguished professional practitioners in two full days of insight, interaction and exploration of issues related to their professional specialties.
Besides these formal classes and events, opportunities for learning abound at YSU. The stories that you share as well as those that you hear and witness from your student colleagues, instructors and staff members before and after classes, on the way to campus and in advisement sessions, and in and out of the student lounge also contribute significantly to your learning and your developing identity as a professional TCM healer. Savor each of these moments of opportunity on your path to graduation.