This story was originally published in The Tower – Volume 1, 2026.
After more than two decades in marketing, Samantha Coble, a trimester 2 Doctor of Chiropractic (DC) student decided it was time for a change. The former corporate executive spent 23 years at American National managing multi-million-dollar marketing budgets, leading the adoption of new social media platforms and overseeing a department that grew from one person to 30.
“The company grew, and I grew with it,” Samantha said. “But after a while, I realized I wasn’t growing in the ways that mattered most. It was time to do something different.”
That “something different” turned out to be chiropractic school. Now, Samantha is pursuing a second career focused on health and healing.
Her interest in wellness is deeply personal. Over the years, she has researched health issues affecting her family, including her mother’s neurological condition. She also manages her own rare allergy, alpha-gal syndrome, which makes her severely allergic to mammal products.
“I joke that if it doesn’t swim or fly, I can’t eat it,” she said. “But it’s also what got me thinking more seriously about our bodies and how chiropractic care treats the person, not just the symptoms.”
Samantha’s husband and college-age children enthusiastically supported her decision to enroll at Logan. The couple relocated from Springfield, Missouri, to Chesterfield, Missouri, to accommodate her studies while managing their family business, Freedom Boat Club, which operates out of marinas across the state.
Returning to school after a long career has been both humbling and rewarding. Unlike many of her classmates who came to Logan with recent science-based undergraduate degrees, Samantha tackles core subjects with fresh eyes, often studying 10 to 12 hours a day.
“I spend a lot of time relearning the fundamentals, which for many of my classmates is a simple review,” Samantha said. “But I think my maturity gives me an advantage in reasoning and seeing the big picture, which will help me with clinical methodology, diagnosis and hands-on work with patients.”
Though she initially worried about fitting in as a 50-year-old student, Samantha quickly found her place. She jokes that she brings a “mom vibe” to campus, in part because her own children are close in age to many of her classmates, and students approach her with questions they are not comfortable asking their peers. She is also a student worker in Logan’s Continuing Education Department, a role that has helped her connect with experienced colleagues and settle into student life again.
Looking ahead, Samantha envisions opening her own practice and has considered whether her brother’s military service might spark an interest in working with veterans.
“The businessperson in me is already thinking about specializing,” she said. “Will I gravitate toward women’s health? Pediatrics? I don’t know yet. Right now, I’m focused on memorizing anatomy.”
Now she feels fully at home at Logan, supported by both second-career and traditional students.
“Being 50 is the middle of the road in life,” Samantha said. “I might as well spend the rest of my time doing something interesting that excites me. I love a challenge, and Logan is offering me that now.”