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Eliza Hart MA ’15

What brought you to occupational therapy?
I was interested in a career change and wanted to pursue a helping profession. After doing some informational interviews with some OTs and shadowing a USC OT alumna in a pediatric outpatient setting, I was sold!

What are some of the occupations you engage in?
Playing tennis, cooking, hiking, and kayaking.

Tell us about your favorite memory from the program so far.
I have made so many wonderful memories thus far, so it is hard to choose just one. My classmates and I planned a surprise baby shower for one of our professors, Dr. Rafeedie. We all worked together to contribute to the surprise and make it a special moment for her. She is a fantastic professor and we wanted her to know that we appreciated everything she did for us — she really made learning fun. The smile on her face when she walked into the room was amazing and she was so grateful. She hugged every single person in the class, personally saying thank you to everyone. It was a great moment that demonstrated mutual respect between students and professor and teamwork and collaboration between students in our cohort.

If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?
I would want to be able to travel places at the snap of my fingers. I commute from Orange County to campus, so this would be very helpful in eliminating my morning commute. I also love to travel, but do not enjoy long plane rides, so it would be amazing to be able travel across the world so quickly.

What are two truths and a lie about yourself?
I have an identical twin. I went bungee jumping with my mom on my 21st birthday. I once won a booty-shaking contest.

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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.