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Kellie C. Miyashima MA ’20

What brought you to occupational therapy?
I tore both of my ACLs in high school, so after graduating I was on the path to becoming a physical therapist or athletic trainer. After about two years in undergrad working on a degree in Kinesiology and a minor in Psychology, I found that those careers were not fulfilling for me. However, I still wanted to focus on something that was related to Kinesiology as I like physical activity and could never do a desk job. My mom is a preschool special education teacher so she talked to me about becoming an occupational therapist as she had seen what they were doing and knows that I like to work with kids. Taking a gap year working various jobs as a camera operator, hostess at a KBBQ restaurant, and a daycare teacher for toddlers helped me solidify what I wanted to do. My daycare teacher was the final push to go back to school, solidifying that I wanted to work with the pediatric population.

What area of practice are you interested in?
Definitely pediatrics.

What are some of the occupations you engage in?
Basketball, hiking, lifting, working out, and going to concerts/festivals.

If your childhood had a smell, what would it be?
Incense and fresh rice.

What song can you sing entirely by heart?
10,000 Emerald Pools by BØRNS.

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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®) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). The USC entry-level doctorate in occupational therapy (OTD) degree program (cost of attendance) has applied for accreditation and has been granted Preaccreditation Status by ACOTE®. View our program’s ACOTE® standards public data. ACOTE® c/o the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.®, 7501 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 510E, Bethesda, MD 20814, (301) 652-AOTA, www.acoteonline.org. The program must complete an on-site evaluation and be granted Accreditation Status before its graduates will be eligible to sit for the national certification examination for the occupational therapist administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, Inc.® (NBCOT®).

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.