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

Stacy Weingarten MA ’14

What brought you to occupational therapy?
I have always been interested in working with people and working in the healthcare field, but I never had any idea that occupational therapy existed. When a friend told me that his mom was an occupational therapist, I immediately began to look into OT and knew that I found the perfect career for me! I continuously find myself having conversations with my classmates about how lucky we are to be in a career that we absolutely love.

What area of practice are you interested in?
I have enjoyed fieldwork in all the different areas of OT, but I am mostly interested in wellness and primary care.

What are some of the occupations you engage in?
I love doing anything where I am outdoors! I enjoy hiking, going to the beach, running, yoga, being with my friends and family, and traveling.

Tell us about your favorite memory from the program so far.
One of my favorite memories was attending the 2013 AOTA conference in San Diego. It was such a wonderful combination of learning from the leaders in occupational therapy while also having a great time with my classmates and professors.

If we opened your fridge, what would we see?
Soy milk, lots of fruits and veggies, tons of leftovers, and hopefully some chocolate.

If you could choose anyone (living or dead) to be your mentor, who would you pick?
Beyoncé. She is an extremely hard worker who inspires women to achieve their goals and to be leaders. She manages to be incredibly successful in her career while still donating her time to doing charitable work. Also, she and I share an interest in working on childhood obesity.

What are two truths and a lie about yourself?
My family has a therapy dog named Maggie. I once ate 5 hot dogs in 10 minutes. At age 23, I got my tongue badly stuck to a popsicle at Disneyland.

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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.