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Joseph Ryan MA ’18

What brought you to occupational therapy?
When I graduated from Cal State Fullerton with a BA in speech therapy, I did not want to pursue that path. I started to look into other options. Occupational therapy came up as a similar career, and I became interested in its potential to impact people in a fundamental way. The close friend of a family friend was finishing up her program at CSU Dominguez Hills, and she was kind enough to answer my questions about the field. I was drawn in not just by how diverse the field is, but how great a difference an occupational therapist can make.

What area of practice are you interested in?
I would really like to work with adults in physical rehabilitation, but mental health is also an important area. Personally, I think working with veterans would be a great way to combine these two areas, so I will definitely be looking into this. Helping people return to work would also be a great way to combine mental and physical health.

Tell us about your favorite memory from the program so far.
This program has been a dream come true with many great memories so far, but one of my favorites has been working on various transfers with the actors who come in to portray individuals with various disabilities, or standardized patients. I loved interacting with them and figuring out how I could improve as a future therapist.

If you could choose anyone (living or dead) to be your mentor, who would you choose and why?
Personally, I would choose Mohandas Gandhi because he was able to have peace with himself but still stood up for what is right. He also had a family and would be able to offer me advice in that area of life, as well. Though we have different religious beliefs, I think he would have a lot to offer from an outside perspective while offering a lot of help on a personal level.

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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.