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Monica Stephen MA ’15

What brought you to occupational therapy?
During my undergrad, my roommates found two ladies for me to live with while they went home for summer break. The two students moved to LA for their fieldwork and were studying something called occupational therapy. They came home every day exhausted but genuinely excited about what they were working on and the incredible people they met at their sites. It didn’t take long (just a couple of explanations of what occupational therapy was) for me to realize that this is exactly what I want to do for the rest of my life! I applied the following year.

What are some of the occupations you engage in?
I love to travel, hike, camp, swim, paint, dance around, and practice yoga. If there was more time in the day, I’d like to get better at piano, surfing, and the ukulele.

Tell us about your favorite memory from the program so far.
Though it was one of the most intensive learning experiences I’ve had, the first summer in the program was my favorite. There was a lot of bonding, and Dr. Fazio‘s Creativity, Craft and Activity Analysis class was the best.

If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?
Time travel! I would visit the dinosaurs, hang out with the great philosophers of ancient Greece, catch a performance by Duke Ellington, meet Hokusai, see what Angkor Wat or Machu Picchu were like, and have most excellent adventures.

If you could choose anyone (living or dead) to be your mentor, who would you pick?
If there’s anyone throughout history who disproved the saying “jack of all trades, master of none,” it was Leonardo da Vinci. I could learn so much from him.

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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 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) is accredited 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.

Professional program graduates are eligible to apply for the national certification examination administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, Inc.® (NBCOT®), nbcot.org. All states require licensure to practice; a felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT® OTR certification examination or attain state licensure. Program results from the NBCOT® can be found online at www.nbcot.org/Educators-Folder/SchoolPerformance.