Kimberley Wyckham Travels Around the World to Find Bastyr

Kimberley Wyckham found Bastyr University in an unusual way: by journeying around the world.

Following a strong inner calling, Wyckham spent 10 years traveling throughout Asia, Costa Rica, Panama, Canada and the U.S. During those years, she met hundreds of healers, including doctors, herbalists, shamans, acupuncturists and swamis. Eventually, she met an Ayurvedic physician in the Seattle area who helped her improve her own health and realize her life purpose: to help others through natural medicine, and to start by attending Bastyr University.

Kimberley Wyckham Now, Wyckham is set to begin the bachelor's program in herbal sciences in fall 2008. After graduating, she plans to pursue training in naturopathic medicine and Ayurvedic medicine as well. Reflecting back, Wyckham believes that her 10-year odyssey was an essential part of her education and career.

"All those years, my inner self was growing and defining the healer I can be. By meeting amazing healers in other cultures, I was shown that healing involves the body, mind and spirit and that it is all connected." Wyckham had always considered a career in medicine, but before those 10 years of travel, she says, "I hadn't even known that Ayurvedic, Chinese or naturopathic medicine existed."

This fall, Wyckham will immerse herself in the rigorous herbal sciences program, which provides a comprehensive, in-depth introduction to herbs and their applications, but she notes that she already acquired some herbal knowledge from doctors and healers she met during her travels. She learned the art of using herbal compresses in Thai massage, how to cook with medicinal herbs and how to use Ayurvedic herbs to alleviate a variety of ailments.

Although she plans to eventually pursue a naturopathic doctoral degree at Bastyr University, herbs will always be an essential part of Wyckham's healing regimen — both for herself and for others. "I think of herbs as a channel of divine grace — nourishing and blessing an individual," she says. "I use them every day to stay strong and vital. It's a relationship; The spirit of the herb will help you with your own inner spirit."

A relationship with this inner spirit is something Wyckham has always had. The trust she placed in this connection made it possible for her to abandon what she felt she was "supposed to" do — be a college student in New Brunswick, Canada — and pursue a less conventional route of learning. "I was always a good student and enjoyed school, but I just had a very, very strong calling to leave and discover what I was really meant to do in this life," says Wyckham, now 30.

During her travels, both of her parents in Canada fell ill, so Wyckham e-mailed a swami who had been one of her spiritual advisors in Hawaii to ask his advice about what to do. He advised that her parents make an appointment with Dr. Virender Sodhi, a Bastyr alumnus and faculty member who practiced in the greater Seattle area.

Wyckham's parents were so impressed with Dr. Sodhi that they urged Wyckham to make an appointment with him as well. While working with him, it became clear that Wyckham's purpose in life was to become an accomplished Ayurvedic doctor, which would first involve enrolling at Bastyr University to become a naturopathic doctor. She immediately moved to the Seattle area and enrolled in the herbal sciences program to lay a strong herbal foundation for her career.

Although Wyckham will not start her studies at Bastyr until the fall, she has already started learning informally from Dr. Sodhi, and she landed a job at Ayush Herbs, which Dr. Sodhi owns.

So far, she feels that her decision to come to Bastyr has been the right one. "The professors are wonderful. I am excited about what Bastyr is doing for the field — how they help individuals reach inside and find their strength and their calling. This helps everyone come into balance and peace in the mind and heart. That is a major gift."