ND commencement student speaker confronts healthcare challenges with a vision for change.

The National University of Natural Medicine is proud to highlight our student speakers for the 2025 Commencement, taking place on June 28.  

Eden Jeffries ’25

Program: Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine (ND) 

As the Student Speaker for the Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine (ND) program at this year’s National University of Natural Medicine (NUNM) commencement ceremony, Eden Jeffries reflects on a commitment to build patient trust and address inequities in healthcare.

Before attending NUNM, Jeffries developed her career in Los Angeles, California, co-founding a wellness company and working as both an academic tutor and caretaker.

The foundation for these experiences was laid during her time at New York University, where she studied social justice, community activism, and creative practice in an interdisciplinary liberal arts program.

“What led me to NUNM was my conviction in wanting to understand the bio-psycho-social impacts of systemic social issues,” Jeffries said, “and a belief that optimization of health and healing through holistic, root-cause practices can be a strategy for radical change.”

Since then, her work has focused on trauma-informed care, chronic disease prevention, integrative mental health, and community-based medicine.  

Eden Jeffries caught up with NUNM to share insights about her experiences and the impact she hopes to make in her future career.  

NUNM: How has NUNM shaped your identity as a future practitioner? 

Jeffries: Over the years at NUNM, my student colleagues, teachers, and mentors have played a crucial role in reflecting back to me how I show up in the world. Being seen in such meaningful ways has helped me better understand my unique qualities and strengths.

While the technical knowledge and skills I’ve gained are essential to practice, I’ve come to recognize that who I am as a person and how I am with people will always be my most valuable resource in a profession like this—and to lean into that as much as possible. 

What moments have stood out during your time at NUNM? 

While working at an organization on a community clinic shift through NUNM, I spoke with a woman who was potentially interested in scheduling a medical appointment. She had been a patient at our NUNM clinic before but had a negative experience that led her to discontinue treatment. She shared that, as a Black woman, she generally had poor relationships with medical institutions and felt she didn’t receive quality care. Seeing a few students of color now made her curious about re-engaging, but she made it clear that this, in itself, didn’t absolve the fact that it still might not feel like a safe place for someone like her.

She asked if I’d share my honest opinions about my education in this community as a Black-identifying person and whether I would recommend this as a place where patients of color might experience less harm. This moment was pivotal. For me, it highlighted the ongoing challenges that exist within a culture that has historically perpetuated racial harm toward my community while also holding onto the hope that I might help change those outcomes. It felt imperative to be honest with myself, this prospective patient, and about our institution. I had to reconcile that I was representing Black medical students, my school, and naturopathic medicine—all intersecting identities that carry their complexities.

Our training at NUNM teaches us to uphold a foundational tenet of patient care: informed decision-making. That means offering options, education, and considering benefits and risks so patients can make autonomous choices, regardless of our preferred recommendations or ideal outcomes.

This conversation grounded me and offered a moment of clarity. It reinforced the importance of representation, the weight of what I choose to take on, and the deep sense of purpose in answering that call.

What are your plans for post-graduation? 

I’ll be doing my residency at the NUNM Health Centers clinic. Apparently, I wasn’t quite ready to move all the way out of the house yet (haha)! I’m looking forward to offering mentorship to current students and continuing to grow into my role as a new practitioner, under the mentorship of those who have guided me throughout this journey.

What kind of impact do you hope to have in the future? 

I’ve come to describe the impact I hope to have as a future medical provider with a kind of catchphrase: “Send me the folks who need their relationship to the medical system restored or repaired.”

In subtle ways, I see myself as a kind of “couples therapist” for patients whose relationship with healthcare has been fractured by medical mistrust, inequitable care, or past experiences of incompetence. It can feel like a lot of pressure at times, but it’s also an exciting, creative challenge for me to use the tools I’ve been given in potentially unconventional ways.

Written by Ashley Villarreal, NUNM Marketing Content Specialist, in collaboration with Eden Jeffries.