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Home ⟩Education at USC Chan ⟩Bachelor’s to Doctorate ⟩Meet the Students

Timothy Wang MA ’23

What brought you to USC?
The 5-year BS/MS occupational therapy program and the school’s atmosphere.

What brought you to Occupational Therapy?
For the past four years, I volunteered at a summer camp for students with special needs. While at this camp, I realized how much I enjoyed helping the kids and spending time with them. For a while, I didn’t know what I wanted to do, I just knew that I wanted to do something to help people like the kids at that camp. In my junior year of high school, the director of the organization hosting the camp introduced me to occupational therapy and I decided to pursue a career in OT.

Describe your favorite occupational therapy course.
Since I am a freshman, I have only taken two OT courses. Introduction to occupational therapy (OT 250) and THRIVE (OT 299) were both fun and interesting classes. For OT 250, I enjoyed learning about the different topics in an interactive way. In OT 299, it was nice being able to have a group that I could connect with and who were willing to share their feelings and listen to mine.

What are some of the occupations you engage in?
Photography, cooking, making bad puns, baking, collecting and pressing leaves, gardening, working out, volleyball, dragon boat, and napping.

Tell us about your favorite memory at USC/in the program so far.
My favorite part of the program is how friendly and welcoming the students and staff are in the program. Coming from a high school that had a very hostile environment, it is such a relief being surrounded by people who are caring and understanding towards others.

How do you plan to use what Occupational Therapy in the future?
After completing my BS/MS, I plan on getting a doctorate (hopefully at USC) and then I want to focus on children with special needs. I also want to continue to educate myself on the legal processes for disability rights since it is something that I have witnessed and experienced in the past and I want to prevent it from ever happening to my clients.

What song can you sing entirely by heart?
Baby shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo . . .

What are some small things that make your day better?
Making people smile or laugh, walks outside, getting into bed at night, food, music, and lots of other things.

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USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy
1540 Alcazar Street, CHP 133, Los Angeles, CA 90089-9003

ACOTE accreditation | NBCOT certification

The USC entry-level master’s degree program (cost of attendance) is fully accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education® (ACOTE). The USC entry-level OTD degree program (cost of attendance) has been granted Candidacy Status by ACOTE. View our program’s ACOTE standards public data. ACOTE c/o Accreditation Department, American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.®, 6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 200, North Bethesda, MD 20852-4929, (301) 652-6611 x2914, acoteonline.org

Professional program graduates are eligible to apply for certification by National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, Inc.® (NBCOT), nbcot.org. Program results from the NBCOT can be found online at www.nbcot.org/Educators-Folder/SchoolPerformance.