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

Ranier Barrett MA ’18

What brought you to occupational therapy?
I was working a day job trying to make ends meet and attempting to write and act in a failed web series. I woke up one day and thought, “Wow, there’s got to be a way I can be creative and help people that doesn’t involve holding my breath every-time I swipe my credit card.” I took every career test online there was, google searched my interests, and once I found OT, I signed up for my pre-requisites. It seemed like it would be a perfect fit, and it is. I get to spend my time helping others reach their full potential and I couldn’t be happier.

Describe your background before coming to occupational therapy.
I was a long-time theatre girl and started out in acting and singing. Then, I moved into writing poetry and plays after I realized that I liked re-writing the plays I was in more than I liked memorizing lines (writers aren’t too happy when you re-write their work, by the way). I graduated from Loyola Marymount University and started working for an after-school education program. During this time, I wrote a lot of poetry, did every single odd acting gig my friends needed me to (and believe me, there were some weird ones), and eventually found OT. I think my arts background is a great fit though; it really helps me to look at the whole person.

What are some of the occupations you engage in?
Writing, reading, running (which I started last year after gaining the grad-school 15), and volunteering. I volunteer at a farm for formerly abused farm animals and on a running team out of Union Rescue Mission. I recommend everyone volunteers. Your time costs nothing to give, and it can really make a difference in the lives of others.

What song can you sing entirely by heart?
Celine Dion’s “All Coming Back to Me Now” I used to have a choreographed dance too (not even when I was a kid, when I was 20). It’s this seriously cheesy ballad and such a guilty pleasure.

If your childhood had a smell, what would it be?
There’s a particular wet pavement smell that Phoenix gets when it rains, especially during monsoon season. It’s during every summer where it’ll be 115 degrees and begin pouring out of nowhere. Definitely harkens back to being a little southwest babe, and getting caught unprepared in a monsoon is a rite of passage if you ever live in AZ.

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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). The USC entry-level OTD degree program (cost of attendance) has been granted Candidacy Status by ACOTE. View our program’s ACOTE standards public data. ACOTE c/o Accreditation Department, American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.®, 6116 Executive Boulevard, Suite 200, North Bethesda, MD 20852-4929, (301) 652-6611 x2914, acoteonline.org

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.