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

Milah Behlmaier MA ’19

What brought you to occupational therapy?
I have had a passion for working with kids with special needs since high school when I took a year off of school to volunteer with the first program in the Turks and Caicos Islands for kids with Autism. I trained and worked as an assistant ABA therapist for the year and I loved it. Since then, I have had many more opportunities to work with kids with all different types of disabilities and all of these experiences have led me to OT.

What area of practice are you interested in?
Definitely pediatrics. Probably outpatient. I’ve always loved working with kids and have dreamed of working in an outpatient pediatric clinic since the day I heard of Occupational Therapy.

Describe your background before coming to occupational therapy.
I completed my undergraduate degree in Psychology in December and then headed to Haiti for 5 months where I served in an Occupational and Physical Therapy clinic in a small village.

If you could travel anywhere, where would it be?
I would love to go to Kenya. I’ve dreamed about traveling to Africa since I was little and Kenya was always top on my list!

How do you want to be remembered?
If nothing else, I want to be remembered as loving and kind. I am a strong believer that love goes a really long way and I try to put love and kindness at the center of everything I do.

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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.