Student Blog
OTSC Elections and Tailgate ⟩
September 14, 2011, by Chris
The elections for the first year positions on the Occupational Therapy and Science Council are being held this week.
The first year students had an amazing turnout with over 20 candidates being nominated for positions on the student council. The voting will close later in the week, but I have no doubt that all of the choices would be valuable assets to the council. The student council is also putting on a tailgate/mixer for the first and second year students to get to know each other.
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People-Watching in LA ⟩
September 13, 2011, by Kimberly
I will be the first to admit that I enjoy people-watching.
Before you think I’m completely weird, you have to know that I take public transport all over LA all the time; and when you are sitting on a bus for 45 minutes across town, it’s hard not to observe the people around you. People-watching for me is more about wondering where they come from, where they’re going. I guess you could say I am an OT at heart, just trying to figure out who a person is from a few seconds we happen to be sharing the same mode of transport. The best part about LA is that it is so culturally diverse and rich. The individuals I have met on the train, bus, Metrorail, walking or even riding my bike all have a different life-path that has brought them where they are today.
My favorite part of riding public transport is when a conversation is actually struck. During OT month last April I had a pin that said “I Love OT” on my backpack and the guy next to me said he had to ask why I loved “overtime.” After a laugh I corrected him and pointed out that OT really stands for occupational therapy and proceeded to have a conversation about the profession. Before we were finished 2 people next to him had joined in and the whole bus-load was educated on what a great thing OT is.
People who ride public transport range from the smallest baby, to the man who can’t afford dinner, to the businesswoman carrying groceries, to the student riding to class. It is really a snapshot of our community and provides an opportunity to get to know others we might not see driving from point A to point B on the freeway. Sometimes I wonder what people think my story is. Well, all they have to do is ask . . . but for now I am content simply observing and smiling at the complexity of human life through the lens of a simple bus ride.
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Back to Reality ⟩
September 13, 2011, by Chris
Community Living in LA School/Life Balance
Well, the first week of class has come and gone, which means it’s back to reality.
Although the return to class may not be at the top of my “things I enjoy” list, it was actually really nice to hang out with friends I haven’t seen since May. The start of fall semester also means the start of football season. This Saturday marks the Trojans’ season-opener against Minnesota. I’m looking forward to meeting up with some friends at the unofficial OT tailgate. I’m anticipating an excellent second year in the program (which will hopefully help me make a decision about the OTD).
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Main Campus is Officially Awesome ⟩
September 13, 2011, by Alix
I just started the second half of the OT program here at USC, and this year I’m taking three of my classes on the main campus. Amazingly, I had never been to the main campus before this week (I know, it’s terrible) because all my classes were on the health sciences campus last year. So, why didn’t anybody tell me how awesome the main campus was? I love the health sciences campus and everything, but it really doesn’t compare. The trees and sculptures are beautiful, there are fountains everywhere, and I love the bustling energy and all the happy undergrads riding around on their beach cruisers.
Another great fact about the main campus: I started teaching free outdoor yoga there this week in Alumni Park underneath the trees. The OT Faculty Practice is sponsoring free yoga classes on both campuses all semester long, and I’ll be teaching every Tuesday at 9AM. Before I found out about OT, I wanted to become a yoga therapist, so I’m happy to be teaching other students and thinking more about how I can use yoga in my practice as an OT. It’s also just nice to spend time outdoors in the morning while the campus is still quiet and peaceful.
In light of the unexpected awesomeness of the main campus, I decided I’m finally going to come out for a tailgate. (Usually it’s virtually impossible to drag me out of Santa Monica on the weekend.) Stay tuned for the full report on tailgating. I’ll make sure to take good notes. 😉
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Why I Chose Occupational Therapy ⟩
September 13, 2011, by Chelsea
Occupational Therapy (OT) seems to attract a diverse array of people, but all of which have a few key characteristics in common: they are amicable, creative, investigative, caring, and interested in many different things. I consider myself as falling into this category. I’ve always had many different hobbies ranging from playing tennis to doing black and white photography. Similarly, I have always had many different interests in school — mainly in the domains of science and art.
When I came to USC as an “Undecided” freshman, I started by taking a few biology and chemistry classes and a few art history and photography classes. I was having such difficulty deciding what to declare as my major that at the end of my freshman year I visited USC’s career counseling office where I discovered the happy-medium that was occupational therapy. I learned that occupational therapy required both creative thinking and scientific knowledge; and that you could find the therapeutic value in the activities you love doing and incorporate them into therapy. My first OT class that I took was Intro to Occupational Therapy with Kate Crowley and, from that point on, I knew I wanted to be an occupational therapist. Kate’s brilliant way of engaging her students makes everyone look forward to her class. It was so interesting to evaluate our own daily occupations and determine how they were impacting our health. I started to realize what an enormous role my hobbies had on my daily health and well-being and became more cognizant of how to balance my lifestyle.
Currently, I am in the second year of the Master’s program and I’m taking my first OT elective: Hand Therapy. One of our first assignments is to observe hands and record what fascinates you. People can be so creative with their hands and use them so intricately. I think it is such a good example of how occupational therapy allows you to combine creativity with science because the hand is so complex. Now I just need to think of a way I could incorporate therapeutic aspects of tennis and photography into hand therapy . . . hmmm.
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