Daniel Luo MA ’17

What brought you to occupational therapy?
Two summers ago, I was working a summer job in San Francisco when I had a little skateboarding accident that ended with my wrist shattered into several different pieces. I refused to let myself be bedridden and did my best to make the most of the rest of my summer. When I got my cast off, I was referred to occupational therapy and my superstar hand therapist at USC, Janice Rocker, enlightened me to this amazing profession and the program at USC. It didn’t take much convincing before I dropped all my classes and switched into OT courses, and when I made the trek up to Sacramento for the OTAC Conference that fall, I was sold.

What area of practice are you interested in?
I am most interested in working with athletes and musicians through hand therapy, but I am open to pretty much every one of the many specialties occupational therapy has to offer!

What are some of the occupations you engage in?
I love music and I love being outdoors. I play saxophone and piano and am a huge fan of jazz and the electronic music scene. You can also catch me rock climbing, backpacking, skating, and doing long-distance road cycling.

If we opened your fridge, what would we see?
Kale, spinach, greek yogurt, peaches and a lot of ice cream. It all evens out, right?

If you could choose anyone (living or dead) to be your mentor, who would you pick?
Chris Sharma, one of the world’s best and strongest rock climbers. If you look up videos of him climbing on YouTube, you’ll be left thinking, “how is that physically possible?!” OR I’d choose Sonny Moore, aka Skrillex. Not only is he an amazingly talented musician, but he also has an incredible work ethic that he manages to balance with his constant travels on tour to shows and festivals all around the world.

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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.