Communications and Marketing Manager at Life Chiropractic Centers (LCC)

“From Russia to Life University: One Woman’s Journey”

New to Life University, Ilona Berman is very excited to share her experiences at this cutting-edge University that leads in the field of vitalistic healthcare education. Berman is the Communications and Marketing Manager at the Life Chiropractic Centers where she is learning about the importance of chiropractic care. Having begun a couple of months ago, she is excited to share her experiences as a new employee.

Berman has recently been drawn to personal health and building better and healthy habits, and she finds Life U to fit right in with her lifestyle.

“I’m exercising every single day; otherwise, I don’t feel good about myself. Probably 95% of the things that I purchase in a grocery store or the farmer’s market are organic. And I found that to be not only better tasting, but also better for you. So, with that and being around [Life U], it aligns with how my life is now and moving forward.”

Berman has come a long way from where she was born.

“I’m originally from Russia, actually. I came here with my family when I was very young with my parents and my younger sister. So, English is my second language. I was in middle school and was kind of being thrown into the American way of life and grasping that, it was a little challenging at first because, as you know, kids are kind of cruel.” said Berman.

Living in the United States was a challenge, and Berman worked to overcome her shyness.  After high school, she moved to New York where she learned to come out of her shell because living in New York brought her out of her comfort zone and it pushed her toward being more independent. There, Berman learned to be self-reliant. While living in New York, Berman interned at a small dental office, giving her the opportunity to learn many different skills including managing an office and assisting in dental surgeries. She points out that her assisting in the dental surgeries was not actually performing surgery but assisting the dentist by handing him the proper instruments and helping to calm the patients.

She attended college in New York for a time but then decided to return to Georgia where she graduated with a degree in communications. After graduation, Berman interned at a community center where she worked with many different ages helping them integrate into the American way of life. She also participated in many events and collaborated with clients, sometimes even on a daily basis if they needed help.

From her work at the community center, Berman came to Life University.

“I’ve always been intrigued by working for a university just in general, and in the education sector. And what jumped out, well, really it was the marketing aspect of it as well. So, it’s kind of twofold. I do like, I do enjoy helping people, but I’m also a creative person. And so, I’ve always done marketing and been on the creative side of things for the companies I’ve worked for in the past. So that kind of jumped out at me that I was able to provide my knowledge and my skills to help the clinic grow and utilize my resources to reach the target audiences and make them aware of who we are and what we’re doing and just grow that,” said Berman.

Berman’s biggest surprise at Life U was how genuinely nice everyone is. She said people are not fake here and are very helpful. She finds it to be a very welcoming and comfortable environment.

Berman explained her involvement in the Life U community.

“Initially I was pulled in to be on the newsletter committee, which is fun to kind of talk to people, to faculty as well as staff, who are very helpful in opening my eyes to what everybody’s doing and what goes on in the clinic. But also, there’s a lot of different events that I really enjoy. And so, I either facilitate the events or am just there as just a goer and taking pictures and kind of talking to patients or potential patients on what they’re looking for, and if they’re patients, what their experience was.”

The newsletter is still in the planning stages, and Berman shared that the eventual goal is to have a newsletter not only for the clinic staff but also geared toward patients as well.

“We’re going to have different themes every month, and they are, for the most part, wellness-type themes, obviously. We’ll also share what’s going on in the clinic, what we can offer, our procedure types and other articles that a patient might find interesting,” shared Berman.

Berman enjoyed attending LIFE Vision Extravaganza. She was able to meet many people at this event and really gain a great understanding of what is offered at Life U.

She finds Life U different from so many other places because of its unique environment.

“Everybody’s just so super nice and genuine, and that’s very refreshing. It’s different; it’s a different mentality but in a good way,” said Berman.

Berman’s advice to staff, especially new staff, is to “talk to as many people as you can on campus, whether it’s a student, faculty or doctors. Just introduce yourself and talk to them, and you will immediately get this warm feeling and a lot of information that you may have not known before.”

Faces of LIFE is a story campaign that showcases members of the dynamic Life U community, including faculty/staff, students, alumni and health science professionals. Interested in being featured or nominating a candidate? We want to hear from you! Email Marketing@life.edu. Read more Faces of LIFE stories.