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

Kara Todrank MA ’17

What brought you to occupational therapy?
My mom is an occupational therapist and my dad is a physical therapist, so naturally, I grew up wanting nothing to do with any job that had the word “therapist” in it. Years later, I was a psychology major researching potential careers, and realized that occupational therapy would actually be a perfect fit for me. I eventually had to admit to my mom that I thought her job was pretty awesome (sorry dad!).

What are some of the occupations you engage in?
In the rare occasion that I don’t have to study for Adult Rehab, I love going to the beach, sleeping, going to the gym, and trying every Ben & Jerry’s flavor.

Tell us about your favorite memory from the program so far.
Before one of the football games a big group of us played cornhole and giant Jenga in the courtyard of the OT house. So much fun!

If we opened your fridge, what would we see?
So much cheese. Right now I literally have two types of mozzarella, cheddar, smoked gouda (my weakness), and string cheese. My roommate is lactose intolerant and was a little concerned when we first moved in together.

What is your spirit animal and why would this animal represent you?
I’m really tall so I get giraffe a lot. I ran the hurdles in high school and my friends would always say that I reminded them of a giraffe when my super long legs would jump up in the air.

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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.