Valentina Vera Carrasquero OTD ’20

Leadership Concentration: Clinical Research

What brought you to occupational therapy?
My mom is a speech therapist and she has worked with children with autism for as long as I can remember. When it was time for me to figure out what I wanted to study, the decision came easy to me, I wanted to be just like her! She took me to her clinic and as soon as I saw an occupational therapist working I knew that was what I wanted to do.

Where are you located for your residency and what services are provided there?
I’m doing my residency at Dr. Baranek’s Insp!re Lab. We have several research projects related to early risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and related neurodevelopmental disorders.

What do you hope to learn from this year?
I hope to step outside of my comfort zone, learn about research and keep growing as a person and as a professional.

If you could give any words of advice for incoming Master’s students, what would they be?
It will all be worth it! I know that at times it will seem as it is impossible, but when you look back it is amazing to see how you’ve grown and become better as time passes.

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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.