Demimae Nicole Ong MA ’21

What brought you to occupational therapy?
I was looking for a path that had my interests in one place. I enjoy cooking and baking, playing with kids, talking with the elderly, and of course, I wanted to make a difference. And so I found occupational therapy!

What area of practice are you interested in?
I have worked as an occupational therapist in a school, a college and a hospital before. But after being exposed to the core subjects and some electives, I came to be interested in the area of healthy aging and geriatrics. It isn’t a separate area in my country and so I’m interested in knowing more about what we, OTs, can help in this specific population.

Tell us about your favorite memory from the program so far.
My favorite memory so far was the in-person classes I had last Fall semester. It was fun to finally see some of my classmates’ faces outside of Zoom!

If you could travel anywhere, where would it be?
I would definitely visit my home country, Philippines. I miss my family, friends and especially, the food!

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
“Life is not a race. Don’t pressure yourself too much.” This was said to me when I was stressing myself out for being “old” and still not being where I want to be. Life is definitely not a race and you are in competition with NO ONE. I learned that I can control how much pressure I put on myself and how I can go through life’s toughest challenges.

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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.