Home ⟩The People of USC Chan ⟩Meet Our Trojan Family ⟩Entry-Level Doctorate (OTD)

Jennifer Lee MA ’19

What brought you to occupational therapy?
My first career was in investor relations for a real estate firm. I worked for the same company since I was in college for over 10 years. While I loved everyone that I worked with, I had this nagging feeling that this was not what I was meant to do. I decided to do career counseling, and occupational therapy kept coming up as a viable career choice for my personality type. I did some research since occupational therapy was not familiar with me. Once I started observing an occupational therapist, I fell in love with the field and wanted to pursue occupational therapy as my new profession.

What area of practice are you interested in?
The area of practice I am interested in is hippotherapy. My passion is horses and horseback riding. Once I observed I could combine my love of horses and work with children at a therapeutic riding center, I was hooked. While hippotherapy is my main interest, I am still keeping an open mind through graduate school since there could be many areas/niches that I am not aware of.

Tell us about your favorite memory from the program so far.
One of my favorite memories so far from the program is when my cohort was learning about sensory integration and we got to experience the pediatrics lab equipment. One of the pieces was a roller racer. I used to have one as a kid and it has been many years since I last rode a roller racer. I had a blast riding it up and down the hallway! It made me feel like a kid again.

If you could visit any time in history, where would you go and why?
I would love to visit the Renaissance period of Italy. I was an art history major during undergrad and loved this period of art and architecture. My favorite artist/sculptor I learned about was Gian Lorenzo Bernini. It would be amazing to see his works during that time in history.

If your childhood had a smell, what would it be?
Growing up, I would say my childhood had two smells. The first smell is of cookies. My grandmother used to live with my family and me, and she always made sure there were cookies in the house. The second smell is of leather. I started riding horses when I was 12 and loved the smell of leather around the barn.

⋯

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.