This interview will provide you an inside look at what it’s like to be a student in the IAFHH Functional Hormone Specialist Certification Program and the benefit of becoming an IC-FHS from the perspective of graduate, Alyssa Chavez, NTP, IC-FHS
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Interview Transcript:
Ashe Milkovic (00:00):
Thank you so much for being here and for sharing your thoughts with us today. Do you mind sharing with us who you are and what it is you do, what your background is, and what brought you to being here today?
Alyssa Chavez (00:10):
Yeah, absolutely. So my name is Alyssa Chavez. I am a nutritional therapy practitioner, and I joined the program because I was looking to really expand my knowledge on women’s health. I knew from the moment I joined the Nutritional Therapy Association that’s really what I wanted to go into because I have a history myself with endometriosis and infertility and just some struggles with the conventional medical world in that industry. So I really wanted to learn more, both for my own health and also to be able to help women within my practice, which is Whole Woman Wellness. And, you know, it’s small but mighty, and I’m just loving every second of it.
Ashe Milkovic (00:57):
So what would you say overall inspired you to enroll in the functional hormone specialist certification program?
Alyssa Chavez (01:05):
Well, when I finished the nutritional therapy association program, I was very happy with the general knowledge that I had learned just about nutrition and health and felt like I had so much to share, but I felt at that time that I really had a desire for a program that was focused just on the women’s health field, the women’s health spectrum, but that was geared towards people coming from the background of being a nutritional therapy practitioner. And then your program popped up, and I just said, well that was just exactly what I was looking for. It just checked all the boxes of what I wanted to learn and the experience that I wanted to have. And so the moment the doors opened, I think I registered the first day. I wasn’t really a huge debate for me.
Ashe Milkovic (01:58):
So what would you say has been your overall experience with the program?
Alyssa Chavez (02:03):
Oh, I loved it. I really enjoyed the depth of the program and how much detail and information was in there. It just felt like there was definitely a lot, a lot of research. And I feel like as a student, I was able to, as long as I’m willing to put in the time and energy, that I was able to get just as much out of it.
Alyssa Chavez (02:26):
I had gone into the program assuming that I would learn a lot about women’s hormones and kind of the science behind it and how we can use nutrition and lifestyle choices to help with various women’s health issues, which I did learn all of that. But actually what really stood out to me was all of the extra topics, like the things we dove into on our weekly Zoom calls. We went into some topics that hadn’t even necessarily crossed my mind a whole lot that I hadn’t given a whole lot of thought to as of yet.
Alyssa Chavez (02:56):
And it kind of opened my eyes to a whole other world of things that we as women need to be aware of and that I, as a practitioner, can help to educate the women around me about. So that to me was what really stood out. Was that the little extras, the little nuggets in there along the way, I feel a lot more confident and comfortable when people come and ask me questions about things. I feel like I have both a resource that I can go back and look at and just more knowledge, where people are bringing up certain things. Yes, okay. I’m familiar with that. I’ve heard about that. I know some things that can help you, and it gives me a lot more confidence, putting myself out there as someone who can help with these issues. So that feels really good.
Ashe Milkovic (03:45):
What might you say to somebody who would be on the fence about working with us or learning from us in the program?
Alyssa Chavez (03:53):
I would say just go for it. You won’t regret it. If you’re someone who’s considering or already knows that you want to go into something within women’s health, women’s hormones, and you’re considering joining this program, I would say it is worth every penny and just take the leap and do it. Stop thinking about it.
Ashe Milkovic (04:23):
(Ashe laughingly repeats) Stop thinking about it. Take the leap.
Alyssa Chavez (04:24):
(Alyssa laughs in agreement) Yep!
