Laurena Chen MA ’18

What brought you to occupational therapy?
It has been a very interesting journey but I would say it was my grandfather’s. My maternal grandfather always instilled in us the importance of being a good person and that we should always do our best to help others. My paternal grandfather was very sick with diabetes and kidney failure when I applied for the program in 2011 and inspired me to look into Occupational therapy at the time.

What area of practice are you interested in or have practiced in?
I currently am a school based therapist in working in an international school in Hong Kong and my areas of interest are sensory integration and lifestyle redesign.

What are some of the occupations you engage in?
I love to do Zumba, pilates and to spend time with my daughter, Avery. If I have extra time, I also love to binge watch TV shows and read — anything related to OT, parenting, child development and parenting.

Tell us about your favorite memory from the program so far.
I have so many, but by far the fondest memory I have was playing Kho Kho with my classmates on the grass next to Tommy Trojan. It was such a great workout and gave me the nostalgic flashback of being a kid again.

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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.