Can I see real people who've actually walked this path?
That's a good instinct to want — a decision this size is easier to trust once you've seen it through someone else's eyes, not just a program description.
Real people who've walked this path
That's a good instinct to want — a decision this size is easier to trust once you've seen it through someone else's eyes, not just a program description.
Watch and read alumni tell it themselves — Five Branches' Paths to TCM series is a set of short, named videos from actual graduates, not composite or anonymized stories:
| Alumnus | Background | Angle |
|---|---|---|
| Jessica Brophy | Occupational therapist (M.S.) | Building her own integrated practice |
| Kendra P. Wagers | Massage therapist, 18 yrs | Expanding into Chinese medicine |
| Crystal Brooks | Navy veteran | Career change via veteran-accessible education |
| Dr. Ariane Wlasak | DAOM, L.Ac. | PTSD research, presented at the 55th TCM Congress (Germany, 2024) |
| Dr. Deborah "Kepi" McMenemy | D.Ac., DAOM, 2009 grad | Opened her own Hawaii clinic; helped Lahaina fire survivors |
| Arcadia Farber | Birth doula → L.Ac. | 15-year private practice, doctorate along the way |
(Source: fivebranches.edu, checked 08/2026 — these are the school's own published, named-consent testimonials.)
Beyond the videos, there's the Alumni Practitioner Directory — over 500 licensed graduates listed with their own practices, across California and states like Hawaii, Colorado, and Washington — and the Alumni Job Board, which shows live postings for associate jobs, practice-space rentals, and whole practices for sale, so you can see the actual career arc as it's happening right now, not just described.
There's also a real, checkable layer many people don't expect: alumni show up in the provider directories of Sutter Health, Stanford Health Care, UCSF's Osher Center, and Chinese Hospital San Francisco — you can look those up yourself.
Is there a particular kind of story you're hoping to see — someone changing careers, a healthcare professional adding TCM, or something closer to your own situation?
Sources
- Five Branches University — Acclaimed Alumni checked 2026-08
- Five Branches University — Paths To Tcm checked 2026-08
Last reviewed: