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Julian Prado MA ’19

What brought you to occupational therapy?
Like most people I wanted a career where I could help other people but I also wanted to challenge myself creatively while still being involved in health care. At first I felt like I wouldn’t be able to find a path where I could do all of that. While talking to a friend she suggested I look into OT. I volunteered at a local hospital and worked with some of the occupational therapists. I felt like OT was a practice that perfectly married everything I was looking for in a career and I knew it would be for me.

Describe your background before coming to occupational therapy.
Before coming to occupational therapy I worked with special needs children in a classroom setting. More recently I have become a substitute teacher at the elementary school level.

What are some of the occupations you engage in?
My favorite occupations are going to concerts and festivals, cooking soup, hiking, baking chocolate chip cookies, tending to my cactus children, and eating donuts.

If we opened your fridge, what would we see?
If you opened my fridge you would find left over Thai food, vanilla almond milk yogurt, various types of jams and jellies, probiotics, leftover soup, depending on how deep in thought I’ll accidentally leave my phone in there sometimes, and probably an orange because I really like cold oranges.

What do you think is the greatest invention of mankind?
That pasta that’s made out of chickpeas and lentils because now I can eat all the pasta I want and not feel bad for eating so much pasta.

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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 fully 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) has applied for accreditation and has been granted Preaccreditation Status 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. The program must complete an on-site evaluation and be granted Accreditation Status before its graduates will be eligible to sit for the national certification examination for the occupational therapist administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, Inc.® (NBCOT®).

Professional program graduates are eligible to apply for certification by National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, Inc.® (NBCOT®), nbcot.org. Program results from the NBCOT® can be found online at www.nbcot.org/Educators-Folder/SchoolPerformance.