Latest Chan Division News
Students
Healthier aging through sharing life stories ⟩
September 28, 2020
Academics and Courses Faculty Pandemic Students
September is Healthy Aging Month, a national observance to draw attention to the lifestyle choices and behaviors that can promote healthy aging for older Americans. In her course, “OT 538: Adulthood and Aging,” Associate Professor of Research Stacey Schepens Niemiec assigns students a project using the power of personal stories to highlight occupations that contribute to meaningful older life experiences. To learn more, Student Ambassador Lamoni Lucas MA ’21 asked Schepens Niemiec to explain the inspiration and purpose of the “Life Story” project, and four OT 538 students to reflect on the project and its mementos.
Schepens Niemiec: Life storytelling — sharing one’s personal life experiences and stories with others — is a meaningful, culturally rich, shared occupation that can be powerfully health-promoting. Life storytelling can help people make sense of their lives, become more aware of the scripts…
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40 Trojans to take part in 2020 OTAC Conference ⟩
September 21, 2020
Alumni Associations and Bodies Conferences Faculty Students
40 Trojans, including faculty members, students and alumni, will be speaking and presenting during the 2020 conference of the Occupational Therapy Association of California. The annual event will be going online from Oct. 8-11. Click to see the full list of this year's USC-affiliated speakers.
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Chan Community Commission meets the moment ⟩
August 19, 2020
Community and Partners Diversity, Access, Equity Events Faculty Global Initiatives Pandemic Students
How student-leaders, faculty and staff kept the division connected during USC’s first fully remote semester.
By Kayla Johari MA ’21 and Calvin Lee MA ’21 During the Summer 2020 semester — the first full academic semester spent away from campus due to the Covid-19 pandemic — the Chan Community Commission (CCC) was assembled to support the incoming Class of 2022. The commission joined USC Chan…
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PhD student Dominique Como earns NIH fellowship ⟩
August 17, 2020
$92K award to support oral health care disparities research and training
In July, USC Chan occupational science PhD student Dominique Como ’21 received a National Institutes of Health Ruth L. Kirschstein Predoctoral Individual National Research Service Award. Commonly referred to as a F31 award, the two-year fellowship funded by the National Institute of Dental and…
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China Initiative PhD Student Co-Teaches Occupational Science Seminar in the Master’s Program at PKUHSC ⟩
July 28, 2020
Academics and Courses China Initiative Community and Partners International Students
Buwen Yao, a China Initiative scholar and current 3rd year PhD student at USC Chan, joins a PKUHSC instructor in co-teaching the Occupational Science Seminar course in the master’s program.
Buwen Yao Buwen Yao, at the time a medical student in rehabilitation medicine at Peking University Health Science Center (PKUHSC), was selected as a China Initiative scholar in 2018 to complete a PhD in occupational science (OS) at USC Chan. She will be amongst the first, if not the first person…
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Welcome Ceremony for the 2nd Cohort of USC-PKUHSC Dual-Degree Students ⟩
July 11, 2020
Academics and Courses China Initiative Diversity, Access, Equity International Students
PKUHSC and USC jointly held a virtual Welcome Ceremony for the second cohort of students admitted to the PKUHSC Master’s Program in Rehabilitation Therapy (Occupational Therapy Track).
PKUHSC held an online Welcome Ceremony for the second cohort of students admitted to the PKUHSC Master’s Program in Rehabilitation Therapy (Occupational Therapy Track). The ceremony was attended by both PKUHSC faculty and instructors, as well as USC China Initiative faculty and doctoral residents.…
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Creating a virtual community for international students ⟩
May 13, 2020
Global Initiatives International Pandemic Students
Amidst a global pandemic and powered by online technology, USC Chan’s Global Initiatives proves that it’s a small, small world.
By Areli Benitez MA ’19, OTD ’20 and Mariah Morris MA ’19, OTD ’20 A vibrant, virtual world has grown within USC Chan's Global Initiatives during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. From virtual hangouts on Friday afternoons, to hosting an international mentorship panel with recent USC Chan…
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Occupational therapy for dancers: A senior project by Adam Vesperman ⟩
May 6, 2020
Academics and Courses Chan in the Media Students
By Brigid Murphy / USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance Adam Vesperman, a 2020 grad of the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, also earned a Minor in Occupational Science. (Photo by Mike Esperanza) USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance Student Adam Vesperman (BFA ’20) saw his senior project as a way to…
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It’s Never Too Late for Graduate School ⟩
April 30, 2020
Academics and Courses Students
Chan student ambassador Kat Hylton talks to three students who pursued a new occupation to become an occupational therapist
By Kat Hylton MA ’20 Changing careers in order to return to grad school is a big decision that nobody makes without thought and contemplation. Each and every path on the educational journey to arrive at USC Chan is unique. As we approach May’s commencement, I asked a few of USC Chan’s…
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Healthcare for the Homeless ⟩
March 26, 2020
Academics and Courses Clinical Community and Partners Students
Student Ambassador Kaho interviews OTD student Julian Prado about his decision to pursue the OTD and work with the homeless population in Los Angeles.
What made you want to pursue an OTD degree? I decided to pursue an OTD degree because I wanted to be able to have a clinical experience within a role emerging practice area and be able to cultivate the role under the guidance of mentorship. My mentor, Dr. Deborah Pitts has years of experience…
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