For ACHS alumna Holly Teal, the journey into holistic health was both deeply personal and profoundly purposeful. Holly graduated from ACHS with a Certificate in Wellness Consulting, Diploma in Herbal Studies, Diploma in Holistic Health Practice, and a Bachelor of Science in Integrative Health Sciences. With a strong desire to bridge the gap between lifestyle education and whole-person wellness, she turned to ACHS to help bring her vision to life.
What stood out immediately to Holly was ACHS’s science-focused, accredited curriculum, which seamlessly integrates natural health concepts with evidence-based learning. “The fact that ACHS is accredited speaks volumes to the quality of education,” she shares. “Each class built upon the next, giving me practical tools I still use with my clients today.”
Building a Wellness-Centered Business Model
Today, Holly co-leads a wellness consulting practice Hephzibah Health Solutions, LLC, which blends her spouse’s professional background in Clinical Pharmacy with her background in early childhood education and community wellness consulting. Hephzibah Health Solutions offers holistic lifestyle education, empowering clients to cultivate balance in both mind and body. Services include wellness consulting, lifestyle guidance, herbal medicine, aromatherapy, and consulting and coaching, as well as research-based support plans tailored to each individual.
Rather than a one-size-fits-all approach, her work centers on partnership. “I see myself as a co-pilot,” she explains. “The client is in the driver’s seat of their wellness journey, and we navigate the path together.” By integrating consulting and coaching, clients are supported in building sustainable lifestyle habits, the foundation of lasting wellness and transformation.
Education That Turned Into Community Impact
Even before enrolling at ACHS, Holly had the idea for a lifestyle education program. What ACHS provided was the structure, confidence, and tools to expand that idea into a meaningful community resource. Through coursework, case studies, and hands-on assignments, many focused on holistic stress management, Holly developed a comprehensive educational program rooted in motivational interviewing, individualized care plans, and practical workbooks.
Her program began as an extension of prior work and grew into a collaborative effort with a local nonprofit. She recently launched a Holistic Lifestyle Education program, featuring her online Stress Resiliency course, available on her website. She also offers small-group and individualized wellness education, with plans to include live community classes and workshops in the future. “It’s about sewing seeds into people’s lives,” she says. “We ask thoughtful questions: what feels hardest, what feels easiest, and why does this matter to you? That’s where real motivation lives.”
Foundational training in aromatherapy and herbalism, combined with coaching skills, allowed her to design wellness plans that mirror real-world case studies, customized, compassionate, and grounded in genuine care.
A Student Experience Rooted in Resilience
Her ACHS experience was shaped by real life. As a stay-at-home mom of three, balancing a toddler, preschooler, and preteen at the time, school required dedication, flexibility, and perseverance. “Almost every paper I wrote centered on holistic stress management,” Holly reflects. “I was building tools to help myself, and in the process, I was building tools to help others.”
That dedication paid off: Holly graduated with a 4.0 GPA, deeply appreciative of ACHS’s supportive learning environment and practical resources. She continues to reference assignments, quizzes, and course materials in her professional work today.
Advice for Future ACHS Students
Her advice for current and prospective students is heartfelt and practical:
“Jump into your classes with both feet. Every assignment shapes your professional style. Take BUS 101. It completely transformed how I structured our business. Write down your vision and your ‘why,’ because you’ll need it when things get hard. Learn from others who have gone before you. Mentorship is invaluable.”
Holly’s story is a powerful example of how ACHS alumni are transforming education into impact, bridging science, compassion, and lifestyle-based care to support true healing, restoration, and hope.
