This month’s member spotlight is on Eniel Rolon! Eniel is a dedicated healthcare professional based in South Burlington and has called Vermont home for the past year and a half. He is the owner of Mahoney Chiropractic Group in Colchester, where he brings a deeply personal understanding to his practice—one rooted in his own journey as a college athlete whose life was changed by chiropractic care.
To learn more about Eniel’s work, visit drseanp.com or connect with Mahoney Chiropractic Group on Instagram or Facebook.
Tell us a bit about your background before arriving in VT and what brought you to the state!
I was born and raised in the beautiful country of Puerto Rico, where I lived for 23 years. After finishing my undergraduate studies, and due to the lack of a Chiropractic program on the island, I decided to move to Georgia to attend the Doctor of Chiropractic program in Atlanta from 2018 to 2022. It was in Georgia that I met my current fiancée, who is a Vermonter. Her being from Vermont is the reason I eventually moved here. After graduating in GA, I lived in Massachusetts for close to a year where I practiced chiropractic in the town of Westborough. After finishing in MA, I decided it was time to take my career to the Green Mountains of VT.
How did you get into your career?
My first experience with chiropractic happened during my undergraduate years, and it was then that the profession truly resonated with me. As a college volleyball player, I put my body through significant physical stress and eventually injured a rib. After trying to resolve this issue through medication and rest with no success, a chiropractor effectively resolved this long-standing issue within a month, and it hasn’t returned since. Witnessing firsthand the power of chiropractic solidified my decision to pursue it as a career.
Why are you a member of the Vermont Professionals of Color Network?
It is an opportunity for me to connect with other professionals that live in this beautiful state that were either born here or were brought here just like me. I believe we should always strive to continue to grow our network, especially if you’re a business owner. This group is also a group of color, and me being from Puerto Rico, is a no brainer. We boricuas love to socialize and being part of something bigger than us.
What aspects of life in VT do you find most fulfilling? What about your professional life here stands out to you?
One of the most fulfilling aspects about VT in my opinion is really being a part of nature. Vermont is not a big city state and it allows people to really connect with nature, the mountains and the beautiful lakes it has to offer. But if you still want a bit of city, big cities are only a few hour drives.
The biggest thing for me that stands out is the fact that I am from Puerto Rico and I already get people in my office that have been waiting for a latino to be part of the health care community and that may need someone that can speak spanish with them.
Looking back, what advice would you have appreciated receiving about being a professional of color in VT before you arrived?
People will love you no matter where you come from here. If you are concerned about people judging you, just go to a local sugar house and see how happy they will take care of you and make you part of the community.
What are some challenges that you’ve faced on a professional level since living in VT?
Maybe the only real challenge I’ve faced so far in my profession is learning how VT really is weather dependent when it comes to snow. Snow can really make or break some people and their commutes.
Can you share any strategies or resources that have helped you overcome these challenges?
Learning what are the best roads to take and the roads to avoid when there is a big snowstorm. Also, trying and meeting other business owners that have been working in the state and learn what they’ve had to learn as well.
Tell us about the work you’re currently doing and what drives you in your profession!
Currently, my main focus is on growing my business with my fiancée and connecting with other local doctors to establish co-management relationships and build a trusted referral network within the community.
What future opportunities do you see for your industry, particularly in the context of the state?
More people knowing what chiropractic can do for them as our country’s healthcare system has been going through a tough time from health insurance becoming more expensive to hospital accessibility.
In your opinion, how can VT better support its BIPOC residents, both professionally and personally?
Continuing to host events where people can meet other professionals in their same field and share the same passion.
How do you balance your professional life with personal interests and self-care?
Balancing professional life with personal interests is important to me. I still enjoy playing volleyball with the skilled players here in Vermont whenever I have time off. To ensure I disconnect from work, I make sure to dedicate at least one day a week to something completely unrelated to my profession. Since my fiancée and I own a business together, we’re aware that work can follow us home, so we intentionally set aside time to simply be together and not talk shop. It’s easy for work to become the sole topic of conversation, which we know can lead to burnout. Finally, we find that planning our vacations and booking flights in advance gives us something to anticipate and helps us prioritize time away.
