Spring 2004: Vol 1, Number 2

Venture Grants

Back in 1998, when Chris Lepisto was tackling his first year in the naturopathic medicine program, he began to notice something unique about his fellow classmates. “I found that many of us dreamed of conducting unusual and fantastic study projects in faraway places and using those studies to understand the world better.” He nurtured a dream himself of going with classmate Rose Paisley to Borneo to attend a World Rural Health Conference and to study the healing practices of the Kayan Tribe.

Since his undergraduate alma mater had a program in place that granted funds to students with creative yet academically relevant study proposals, Chris felt that Bastyr could and should create its own version…starting with him. “Rose and I started looking for ways we could get our project funded through the university. We ended up receiving support from the board of trustees, the president’s office and student council.” Soon he and Rose were sitting cross-legged at the feet of Kayan elders, listening to ancient tales of healing and survival in the Borneo jungles.

But Chris wanted to share the wealth. He envisioned a venture grant program in place that would regularly solicit the grant proposals of students with similar dreams. “This was all about pulling together those people who dream big and appreciate the global perspective,” says Chris. “Venture grants are about shooting for the stars; and if students land on the moon, that’s great!”

Chris assembled a committee of students and faculty who presented their ideas to the student council, which not only approved the program but agreed to provide student council monies. John Daley, PhD, university executive vice president/provost, offered to match student council money with funds from his office.

In May 2000, six students with strong proposals for studying in India, the Philippines and Cuba were chosen to receive the first venture grant scholarships. And since that time, an additional 82 students—some in groups, others alone—have traveled around the world on venture grants, studying everything from Oriental medicine in Vietnam to hydro-therapeutics in Germany and HIV/AIDS in Uganda.

Dr. Daley reports that the program is still going strong, with the dean of students office now taking administrative responsibility for the project and providing funds out of its budget and that of the student council. Still highly enthusiastic about venture grants, Dr. Daley believes they “enhance a student’s education dramatically;” and, whenever possible, he attends the summary lecture each group is required to present upon its return.

According to the current chair of the venture grant committee, fourth-year naturopathic student Eva Hyatt, an important part of the program is teaching applicants to write grant proposals like pros. To this end, Eva is currently updating the venture grant application form using the Rhodes Scholarship application as a template. “Learning to apply for funds now—and learning to do it right—is just the beginning of a process that will continue for students long after they graduate,” she says.

Chris, now a naturopathic physician with offices in Colorado and Utah, looks back on his early role in the venture grant process and sees benefits far beyond those he initially imagined. “Helping to establish the program and going overseas myself allowed me to use my creative energies in ways that would never have been available in the classroom,” he says. “It was a way for me to put that energy back into the school, and the ball just kept on rolling…. It’s the closest I’ll ever get to giving birth!”

Recent Venture Grant Projects Introduce Students to the Native Medicines of Mexico and Chile
Mexico: “They were thrilled we wanted to learn from them” says naturopathic medicine student Jennifer Salcido, referring to both the native and the medical doctors of Mexico. “They were very open and anxious to share.”

Jennifer was one of 10 students who, during June and July, used venture grant monies to visit Mexico and study the dynamics of integrating traditional Mexican holistic medicine into the naturopathic culture and vice versa. A concomitant goal was to seek to understand the Mexican attitude toward health and healing so that naturopathic physicians could better serve the Latin-American as well as international communities.

Built on the initial vision of Mexican-American naturopathic student Sofia Lopez, the study tour incorporated the various goals of the participating students. These included exploring the possibility of establishing a naturopathic clinic in Jalisco, observing models of integration between modern and native medicine, and learning from local and indigenous healers. Native practitioners ranged from Mayan shamans to “naturista” herbalists, “curandero” energy healers, and a “sabrero” or “bone healer,” whose therapies included gentle manipulations and foot massage. A number of students participated in supervised rotations at Centro Naturista Daniel Arreola in Jalisco, where they observed and assisted with natural therapies such as mud baths and lymphatic drainage massage. Many of the students also met with allopathic medical students at the University of Guadalajara Medical School, where Bastyr University founder John Bastyr once studied.

“We went to Mexico to learn and to be of service,” says nutrition student Michael Greenberg. While there, the Bastyr group volunteered at an AIDS hospice near Merida on the Yucatan Peninsula, which had been badly damaged by a hurricane the pre-vious year. Students helped with meals, offered nutritional counseling and massages, and painted and repaired facilities. Perhaps most importantly, they provided companionship to the hospice residents considered outcasts by much of the community. While still in Merida, the students were invited to help write and record public service announcements about HIV/AIDS for a local radio station and then participate in a live, on-the-air interview.

Since many in the group came down with gastrointestinal illnesses during their stay, a number of students found themselves mixing the healing of native herbalists and shamans with the modern therapies of local hospitals—experiencing for themselves the value of truly integrated therapies. “We interacted with some of the warmest and most loving people I’ve ever met,” says Michael. “Overall, I believe many of us learned that love is the ultimate healing, holistic and sustainable concept—the one unifying principle.”

Chile: In September, 21 Bastyr students flew to Chile to study the shamanic healing practices of the indigenous Mapuche people. According to naturopathic student Deb Zucker, Chile itself, with its lush vegetation, smoking volcanoes and tumbling waterfalls, provided an almost magical back-drop to their experiences. “We were lucky to be there during a full moon,” she says. “A favorite memory of mine is drumming under that moon in a ceremony honoring the female energies of healing and nurturing.” The honoring of both male and female energies—a sort of Mapuche yin and yang—is an important part of Mapuche rituals, as is the use of drums and rattles.

During their two-week visit, the students learned about native herbal medicine from Mapuche female elders known as Machi. They also discovered how modern medicine and ancient ways complement each other at the Center of Alternative Therapies in La Piramide, built on three levels to reflect the Mapuche belief system. “The psychiatrists and therapists there were very interested in the connection between health and spirituality in their counseling,” says Deb. “They incorporate Mapuche and other healing traditions from around the world as a way to help their patients. I was impressed by the willingness of these practitioners, who were trained in modern medicine, to look at other approaches to healing.”

When the time came to leave, Deb wasn’t the only one finding it hard to tear away. “I think it was difficult for all of us. We’d been there such a short while, and yet it felt so much like home.”

Happily, these venture grant students found a way to extend their visit by bringing their Chilean friends back to Bastyr. In mid-November they flew two Mapuche spiritual leaders up to Seattle to share their knowledge with the community during a student-organized conference. “When the Eagle Meets the Condor” was held on campus November 14-16 and featured presentations by Mapuche elders Miguel Huenel and Lorenzo Aillapan. Miguel and Lorenzo led students in various shamanic healing ceremonies and, with the help of translators, explained the rituals of the ceremonies and the significance of the symbols involved. Lorenzo, known fondly by the students as “The Bird Man,” also peformed for the group by miming the actions of Chilean birds while mimicking their calls—his way of communicating their spiritual essence.

A local shamanic practitioner of the North American Lakota tribe, Char Sundust, participated in the ceremonies and introduced the Mapuche visitors to Native American practices. This sharing between the North American traditions (repre-sented by the eagle) and the South American traditions (represented by the condor) helped to fulfill a Mapuche prophecy predicting that the condor and the eagle would someday "fly together." Deb, who worked as the principal organizer of the conference, reports that the Mapuche guests spoke often of the fulfilling of this prophecy and were deeply touched by the active role Bastyr students played in making it happen.

Although organized within only six weeks of the students’ return from Chile, the conference averaged an attendance of 50 people over the course of the weekend. Travel costs for Miguel and Lorenzo were covered by donations by students, conference registration fees and funding from the student council.

“For many of us, the conference was a time of awakening,” says Deb. “Personally, I learned there is power in going through life with an open heart and being in a relaxed ‘state of trust.’ These are things I hope to share with patients, to help them recognize the connections between their physical body, their emotions and their spiritual state. This discovery is what allows for that movement toward optimum health.”

To learn more about scholarship programs that support Bastyr students, contact the development office at 425.602.3051.

Home | Site Map | Search | Contact Us | Jobs | Privacy Policy | E-Newsletter | Press Kit (PDF) | Printer Friendly Bastyr University. Copyright © 2010. All Rights Reserved. Bastyr is a registered trademark of Bastyr University.