Cloud Galanes-Rosenbaum recently graduated from ACHS with a Bachelor of Science in Integrative Health Sciences after a long journey to find their path and passion. In 2010, Cloud faced a turning point. Struggling with their health and uncertain about life after high school, they began exploring holistic approaches to wellness. With dietary changes and supplements, Cloud experienced their first glimpses of healing. But more than just feeling better, they were driven by a deeper curiosity: Why was this working?
“I saw what holistic healthcare had done for me my whole life,” Cloud shares. “I wanted the knowledge and ability to provide that same care and education to others like me.”
Finding Support, Purpose, and a Place to Belong
This desire led Cloud to ACHS, where they found more than just an education; they also found a purpose. Growing up undiagnosed on the autism spectrum and living with epilepsy, depression, and anxiety, Cloud had long felt misunderstood and dismissed. “I was talked around and labeled ‘learning disabled.’ Eventually, I started to believe maybe I was just broken,” they said.
That changed at ACHS. Advisors and faculty members like Senior Student Advisor, Joel Strimling, and Dean of General Education, Dr. Lori Holdren, acknowledged their experiences and ensured ADA accommodations were respected and implemented. For the first time, Cloud felt seen and supported in their learning environment. “Being on the spectrum, I saw what I didn’t have growing up, and realized other people needed it, too,” they said.
Blending Science, Nature, and Service
Courses in business and chemistry were transformative. These courses helped Cloud connect the dots between science, nature, and service. Herbalism classes were especially meaningful, hands-on, and applicable. They brought back fond memories of a childhood fascination with nature. “I was a nerd from birth,” Cloud laughs, recalling elementary school lessons on trees and the poetic language of animal groupings like the “unkindness of ravens” and “parliament of owls.”
Cloud’s life experiences, including a late diagnosis of autism and the return of epilepsy in adulthood, have deeply shaped their understanding of disability. These experiences fuel their empathy and advocacy. “You can’t truly understand it unless you’ve lived it,” Cloud says. Their healing journey also led them to explore ASL and Deaf culture, opening their eyes to other underrepresented communities. “No one was standing up for me. I had my mom, but not everyone has that.”
Connection and Advocacy
Cloud is passionate about building a future where they can provide accessible information and personalized wellness support for others. “I hope to one day be able to provide information and connections to products and services that can significantly improve daily life for disabled people,” they said. “I may even be able to help future clients create an individualized lifestyle improvement blueprint with one-on-one consultations.”
For Cloud, self-care and community care go hand-in-hand. “Sometimes self-care means asking others for help. Sometimes it means helping someone else. It’s all about connections.” Cloud emphasizes that asking for help is a form of strength, saying, “If you need help, don’t let your anxieties keep you from asking for it. Learning to self-advocate and ask for accommodations saved my life.”
Living Authentically
Cloud now lives in San Francisco with their family and retired service dog, Billie, and service dog-in-training, Frankie. They help them manage epilepsy, Asperger’s (ASD-1), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), and chronic depression.
Through their writing and future podcasting and holistic health work, Cloud is creating space for conversations around queerness, disability, and neurodiversity. They find inspiration in figures like Elliott Page and Alexandra Billings—people who live authentically and advocate boldly. “I want to do something where queerness and disability overlap. Where people like me can see hope and make their own footprints.”
Their message to others interested in this field is simple: “Whether you’re disabled or not, learn from people who’ve lived it. Be compassionate. And genuinely try to express that you’re trying to learn.”
Interested in learning more about Integrative Health programs at ACHS? Request information today!
