Student Blog

Student-Work-Life Balance ⟩
July 30, 2020, by Lamoni

Classes Getting Involved Life Hacks

We often hear about the importance of a work-life balance or a student-life and social-life balance. However, we do not talk much about the balance of being a student, being an employee, and being social or engaging in self-care. When I discuss work, I do not mean students that have student jobs (like me). Though that is also something to consider. Being a student with a student job still requires balancing but student jobs understand that your life as a student comes first. These jobs often allow time for studying while at work. They also tend to be more flexible to a student’s schedule. My boss constantly emphasizes self-care and she consistently remind my coworkers and I to adjust our schedules as needed. Shout-out to her; we love you Kim. The flexibility that I see in my job as a student worker typically does not ring true for employment outside of the university. Most employers expect their employees to be committed to a certain schedule and to give their full attention to their work while they are on the clock.

Recently, a few first-year students told me that they would like to become more involved but feel too busy with summer courses at the moment. Some even asked for advice on what they should do because they assumed that their lack of involvement would reflect poorly on them. I want to assure everyone that you are not obligated to join any organizations. Please do not overwhelm yourselves. In fact, many people do not become involved until their spring semester. The goal of the student-organization fair and any emails that you are receiving from organizations are to make you aware of what is out there. Think of them as saying “here are your options, if you so choose” and not “pick me!” If your plate is full or you simply are not interested right now, that is completely fine.

I brought up these concerns with my friend, Daphne, and they spoke about their own experience during their first semester of the master’s program (which we all know is very fast paced). But more than student life which includes student organizations and groups, they told me about how difficult it was to also have a job. After being in class from 8:30AM to 4:30PM, Daphne would go to work. Then after work, they would tend to homework and studying. They said “during summer, it was easy to be overwhelmed with everything going on. There were so many extracurriculars that I was I was interested in, but I did not have time between class and work. I hardly had time for sleep.” Daphne also mentioned feeling alone and unaware of any other students balancing jobs on top of their studies.

Now, with campus being closed due to COVID-19 and many student jobs being unavailable, I believe some students have picked up work outside of school. Additionally, I know that some students have children or are responsible for financially contributing to their household – maybe more so because of the pandemic. I have heard from some of my peers that their families are requiring more financial assistance from them. It is difficult to balance student-life, work-life, and life-life. Add in COVID-19 and it can become an even greater struggle.

If you can say “no,” say it.
I know that some responsibilities are non-negotiable. However, not everything requires your time. When someone asks something of you, the answer “no” is a viable option. For the people that have a hard time saying no, there are several ways to say it ~nicely~

Special shoutout to @BRIARAMs on twitter for creating a thread. Here are some of her suggestions.
“I appreciate you for considering me, but this is not for me at the moment.”
“I am unsure, may we revisit this another time?”
“Thank you so much for thinking of me, but I have committed to something else.”
“Unfortunately, now is not a good time.”

I used to have difficulty telling people no but there are only so many hours in a day. Plus, I cannot get the job done effectively If I am tired or have to tend to 100 things at once. Learning how to say no to some things allows you to say yes to what is important to you.

Reduce your involvement
Sometimes we get excited and push ourselves to become more involved than necessary. Similar to saying no, reducing your involvement helps to take some things off of your plate. As mentioned, many of you want to become more involved but you are concerned about the commitment. If there is something that you absolutely want to be a part of, become a member. But remember—That does not mean you have to be a board member. You do not have to show up to every meeting. You do not have to take on additional roles. Do what you can and nothing more. 

When assistance is offered, take it
During these uncertain times, there are programs, loans, and grants to alleviate stress (e.g., CARES Act Federal Grant, housing/rent assistance, business loans). Take advantage of those modes of assistance. Their sole purpose is to offer help so do not feel bad. Apply for what you need. If you need them all, apply for them all.

Ask for help
When help is offered, we are more likely to take it than to directly ask for it. A lot of people struggle with asking for help. But honestly, there is no harm in it. The worst thing that can happen is being told no. Do you foresee yourself needing an extension on your paper? Ask for it. Ask your boss if you can do readings at work when things are moving slow. Many people are more understanding than we think. If you explain your situation, they may be willing to help you out.

I wish life was as simple as saying – just be a student and fully commit to that. But in reality, there are bills, there are student loans, there are car payments. There are responsibilities outside of being a student. However, there are a few things that you can do to make it all feel a bit more manageable. I hope these tips offer some relief.

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Discovering Two New Occupations in the Midst of Challenges ⟩
July 29, 2020, by Nmachi

Life Hacks Living in LA

About two weeks ago, my sister and I were doing our usual quarantine morning workout routine: high intensity interval training (HIIT), abs, and lower body focus. Since we had been frequently exercising indoors, we decided to take a walk around the neighborhood to get some fresh air after the workout. Once we walked out the front door, we instantly knew that we made a great decision. The sun was shining, the air was cool, and the atmosphere was very peaceful.

After walking twice around while listening to music, we began talking about how much we needed that walk. It was something that was very simple but ended up lifting our moods and altering the trajectory of our day. We became more and more engulfed in our positive thoughts on the walk that we came up with the most genius idea of all time: watching a sunrise at the beach! It dawned on me that I had never been to the beach in the early morning to watch a sunrise. Because I’ve lived in Long Beach, CA my whole life, I tend to take my proximity to beaches for granted. Going on a morning beach adventure was the perfect way to take advantage of the benefits of living in SoCal!

Something to note is that my family and I are not the type of people to plan things on a whim. The fact that my sister and I thought of doing something new and actually did it the following morning was a big deal for us. While at the beach, we laid out on the sand, read books, and watched the changing beauty in the sky. It was magical but so simple. Since we arrived very early in the morning, there were barely any people around. This allowed us to truly relax and listen to the sounds of the ocean without distraction.

Going to the beach was the activity we needed in order to get the adventurous ball rolling, if you will. Since we had such a great time being outdoors, we brainstormed other activities to do that would require us to visit and explore different locations. My sister remembered that a family friend had recently gone hiking, so we decided to try out the same trail she went on. It was my first real experience hiking, and I loved it! We felt amazing afterwards and made plans to try out another hike near my other sister’s apartment. This hike was a bit more challenging but equally rewarding. The two hiking trips were amazing and had incredible views!

The main lesson that I learned from these experiences is that it is KEY to get out of the house, especially during this stressful time (while always wearing a mask and practicing social distancing). It’s safe to say that COVID brought many challenges and stressors to people’s lives. Personally, I have been dealing with the struggles of not being able to physically be on campus this upcoming semester. Having to do all my classes and hang outs with friends virtually has its pros and cons, and I know that many other people are going through similar conflicts. Despite having these negative feelings, I pushed myself to get outside of my comfort zone. Through this, I was able to discover two brand new occupations that I will begin to incorporate into my daily life from now on!

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Flashback To My First Year ⟩
July 24, 2020, by Calvin

Beginnings and Endings Community What are OS/OT?

I remember walking onto the Health Sciences Campus on my first day and being really nervous about how I was going to meet new people. I remember I was almost late because I underestimated traffic, but I ended up making it even though I was dripping in panic sweat haha . . . I remember the insane amount of times when we would all introduce ourselves because there were just so many people to meet! I remember taking classes in the G-37 Auditorium, a.k.a. the frozen tundra in the CHP building, where I could always rely on the A.C. to be blasting. I remember how accomplished we all felt when we finished up our first summer semester. I remember starting my first immersion in mental health, engaging in my first Level I Fieldwork, and just spending good times with friends in the program! I remember it all!

Okay, Calvin, we get it; you remember stuff! What’s your point? Well, in just one year, I was able to experience and learn so much about the profession, myself, others, and beyond. However, I would have never guessed that we would all be where we are right now. It’s been a relatively challenging past few months with everything going on, but reflecting on the past year has really helped me stay motivated. These memories remind me why I’m here, and I’d like to take you all on a trip down memory lane to share some with you!

The ones who make every impossible in my life, possible: my parents. They’ve always supported me in every endeavor and I’m forever grateful for them! Big love to my #1 fans!

The best cohort, Cohort B(EST)!!! Sorry, I don’t make the rules ¯\_( ˘ ˘̯)_/¯.Huge shoutout to this phenomenal group of individuals! They are truly some of the most inspiring, funny, genuine, and authentic people I’ve ever met!

All I can say is that I love this picture and this group of people LOL! By the way, you can actually see more of the division, virtually, thanks to the USC SMART-VR Virtual Reality Tour App that was co-created by Dr. Sook-Lei Liew!

This was taken at the 2019 Occupational Therapy Association of California (OTAC) Annual Conference. This was my first OT conference ever and it was such a great time connecting with others, attending a variety of presentations, and just being surrounded by so many OT leaders!

The Global Initiatives Team has always been so welcoming and they’ve provided multiple opportunities to learn and have dialogue about a variety of international topics. I’m incredibly thankful to Global Initiatives for fostering such a vibrant community and for making my first year experience an unforgettable one!

I hope that this gave you all a good glimpse into what my first year in the program was like. Life is very different right now, but that shouldn’t stop us from making new and lasting memories!

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Summer in Lifestyle Redesign ⟩
July 23, 2020, by Liz

Classes

The summer semester is almost coming to an end and I thought it would be cool to share with you all about the Lifestyle Redesign elective course I’ve been taking for the past 9 weeks! As you may already know, Lifestyle Redesign was developed here at USC Chan. Pretty awesome, right? If you don’t know much about Lifestyle Redesign, it is an intervention approach that OTs can use with clients to help them manage chronic conditions by taking a closer look at their habits and routines in order to work with them towards building healthier lifestyles.

The coolest part about taking this elective is that we’ve had the chance to practice having our own client! So, one of our peers is assigned to be our client and in return we get to work on some goals ourselves by being another student’s client. We meet with our client once a week for 30 minutes (this is the target time). So far we’ve met for 6 sessions and now that summer is almost over we have two more to go! Here’s a little bit of what I’ve learned:

1. How to incorporate therapeutic techniques I’ve learned in class
We’ve gone over SO much this summer! I’ve been working on using principles of motivational interviewing, integrating coaching strategies, and using communication techniques during these sessions.

2. Paying close attention to your body language and facial expressions is so important
Our body language and facial expressions can say so much. Since we are doing this remotely, it’s been pretty cool to see myself on Zoom and pay close attention to what my client sees when they’re speaking to me. Of course, I wish I were seeing my client in person, but Zoom has been pretty helpful for getting started! We definitely want to make sure our clients feel like they are in a safe space and being mindful of the way we react to what they share is important for doing that.

3. How to pace myself
As I mentioned before, the sessions are meant to be 30 minutes long. It’s so easy to get caught up talking about one thing, and although it would be amazing to have all the time in the world to talk to our clients that isn’t the reality. So far I’ve made some progress—my last session was 33 minutes long! 

4. How to document
Documentation is so important! As Dr. Rebecca Cunningham has mentioned this summer, it is a love letter to your future self! Documentation is how OTs communicate patient progress, it supports how we are reimbursed, and shows why our clients are benefiting from our services. During the process I’ve practiced using appropriate language, writing long-term goals, and writing short-term goals for my client. We also receive feedback that we can then implement into the following week’s documentation. It’s great to be able to practice and make mistakes and learn from those mistakes in a safe space!

5. How to switch gears
Sometimes what we had in mind for our session doesn’t go as planned. So, it’s important to be able to switch gears a little bit and tailor the session to best meet the needs of our clients. It won’t always go our way and that is completely okay!

Although I am looking forward to that week off before fall semester starts, I will definitely miss this course! Our program offers a variety of elective options for students to take and I am so happy I chose to take this one this summer. I’ve learned a lot of useful tools and have developed skills that will definitely be useful when out in practice!

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When a Planner’s Plan Doesn’t go to Plan ⟩
July 21, 2020, by Savi

Fieldwork What are OS/OT?

You never know where you are going to end up. This was a comment I heard from a lot of USC faculty and staff during my first summer in the Master’s program. I would chuckle and dismiss these comments because I have always known what setting I wanted to work in as an occupational therapist (OT). When I have a plan I rarely sway from it. After deciding to pursue a career as an OT in acute care during my junior year of high school, I did everything I could to fulfill this dream of mine.

Upon entering into my first immersion, mental health, I had already convinced myself that this was not the field I was going to work in. As I attended more classes, participated in group discussions, and immersed myself in an eye-opening fieldwork placement, I soon came to realize that my plan to pursue a career in acute care may not be my goal after all. In this fieldwork setting I listened to my clients’ stories and worked with them to overcome the mental health barriers they faced to become better mothers. This experience made me realize that my love for working with clients to improve both mental and physical health in order to engage in meaningful occupations can be applied in a variety of settings. For the first time in a while, I was confused about where I was going to end up, and that made me feel uneasy. 

It was not until I was introduced to my faculty mentor, Kimberly Perring Lenington, that I came to terms with the fact that my confusion was a good thing and not something to be afraid of. I instantly admired Dr. Lenington for achieving my original goal of working in the acute care setting directly after graduating from USC. I remember asking Dr. Lenington if this was her goal all along and recall her explaining that this was not her plan. She fell into this setting and loves it. I was shocked. I didn’t have to plan my entire career from high school in order to be successful in my field of choice?

While learning more about Dr. Lenington I discovered a niche specialty I was never aware of. Dr. Lenington also treats individuals with various pelvic health diagnoses including incontinence, pelvic pain, and sexual dysfunction. After diving deeper into this pelvic health specialty and learning more about OT’s role in sexual health in my OT 534 Health Promotion and Wellness course, I became fascinated by the opportunity to work with women to help them holistically. In this setting, I could tackle the mental and physical barriers to achieving pelvic health in order to help women participate in meaningful occupations. Let’s just say I was immediately hooked! 

Although I am still passionate about the possibility of working in an acute care setting, I have come to the understanding that I must allow myself to keep an open mind. Without doing so I would have never discovered the pelvic health specialty that I am now extremely excited about. It is ok to be confused about where you want to be once you graduate. This confusion is truly a gift. Allowing yourself to keep an open mind, in turn, widens the realm of possibilities. So to those who are planners like me, know that it is all right to redo your plan. Keep your options open . . . you never know what opportunities could be coming your way!

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