Student Blog

The Secret to Balance: Nature ⟩
September 24, 2025, by Ciara

School/Life Balance

Between deadlines, projects, internships, and the never-ending temptation to doom-scroll on TikTok, I know first hand how hard it is to maintain balance and to not feel overwhelmed by stress. But let me let you in on a secret that helped me become the most balanced I’ve been: the best way to clear your head isn’t coffee, energy drinks, or back-to-back all-nighters at the library, but rather a relaxing day spent exploring nature.

Coming from out-of-state, I was concerned that I would become stressed with school and not have access to the usual methods I had to calm me down at home (which were usually playing with my two dogs–Star and Sky– and my mischievous cat–Luna). Fortunately, one of my first classes at USC was OT-250, where I quickly realized that occupations–meaningful activities that hold value in one’s life– have a direct correlation with one’s overall well being. So I set on a path to find an occupation that both filled my life with joy and allowed me to get away from the busy life of undergrad and relax; eventually this path led me straight to my new favorite occupation: exploring nature! I realized that while academics fed my mind, nature fed my soul. So here’s how and why you should make room for both!

Visit local beaches:
During my freshman year, my friend group helped support my quest to make balance a priority in my life, and they were all also in love with the idea of doing so through nature. Visiting local beaches with a friend group is a fun way to immerse yourself in nature. Not only does going to beaches with friends make transportation easier, but it’s also nice to have someone there with you to share the experience. So far, I’ve been to Venice Beach, Manhattan Beach, Santa Monica, and Malibu, and Catalina Island! Malibu was my most recent adventure and the first time I went on a hike in California. It was nice to get out of my comfort zone by adding the physical challenge of a hike to the usual relaxation I find within nature. If you are an out-of-state student like myself or do not have a car on campus, I highly recommend using the metro with your U-Pass or renting a car with a group of friends (I recently used ZipCar and it is beginner friendly!).

You can explore nature anywhere:
Exploring nature also allows you to explore the world! I was concerned that I would lose touch with my new love for nature when I went back home this summer, but nature is truly all around us. I found that outdoor walks and gardening allowed me to still engage in nature-based occupations at home. When I went on a cruise this summer, I even convinced my dad to do a nature-based excursion, where we went on a hike and slid down waterfalls in the Dominican Republic. It was the perfect duality of tranquility and thrill. Moral of the story, don’t let your mind limit you on how you can engage with nature, nature is everywhere!

Easy to add into your routine:
Exploring nature is rather easy to incorporate into your daily routine. Not every interaction has to be to along a hiking trail or at a beach; you can get your daily dose of nature by taking an outdoor walk, studying on the lawns on campus, or starting to care for a small plant (tip: start with a succulent if you’re a beginner like me). I also found that you can incorporate nature into other occupations. Before finals season, my friends and I went to The Getty and found ourselves drawn to the Garden Exhibit. It was so calming that we didn’t even notice we spent all our time there! If you’re a music lover, try taking a walk outside while listening to your favorite playlist! Or if you love journaling, try writing your next entry under a tree!

Why Nature?
You may be wondering: why? Well, nature-based occupations have several health benefits:

• Depression and Anxiety: Nature’s calming effect reduces cortisol, which reduces stress and anxiety.
• ADD and ADHD: Spending time in nature improves attention and cognitive function, which can help with focus and clarity.
• Human health: being outdoors and engaging in physical activity also encourages sunlight exposure, which can help regulate circadian rhythms, boost Vitamin D levels, and improve sleep quality.

Exploring nature has allowed me to explore myself: Who is Ciara? What works for me? What doesn’t? How am I genuinely feeling right now? Nature has seemingly become my safe haven and has brought me closer to my community, my friends, and most importantly, myself. The balance involved with nature-based occupations is only the tip of the iceberg of benefits it has in one’s life. If you’re interested in starting your nature journey and don’t know where to start, consider the USC Peace Garden; you can check out the updated hours HERE. So, the next time you find yourself overly stressed, don’t panic: take a break outside, let your mind reset, and come back to your task ready to to take on the day.

 

⋯

Protect the OT Voice: An Interview with Dr. Samia Rafeedie ⟩
September 22, 2025, by Cara

Community Getting Involved

Some people you meet leave a positive, lasting impression. Dr. Samia Rafeedie is one of those people for me. Ask anyone at Chan and they’ll tell you that her superpower is empowering others. Not only is she a beloved professor and the director of our E-OTD program, but she also serves as the President of the Occupational Therapy Association of California (OTAC). Recently, she delivered an inspiring speech to the new E-OTD class about joining OTAC and the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). Afterward, I had the privilege of speaking with her 1-on-1, where she shared insights about OTAC’s work, why advocacy matters, and how to maximize the profession’s future both as students and practitioners.

Path to Leadership
Dr. Rafeedie has always carried a strong sense of responsibility and values giving back. In 2009, a colleague encouraged her to chair OTAC’s Education Committee. From there, she co-led the OTAC Conference Committee, revised the submission process for conference abstracts, served as the Political Action Committee Chair, and eventually was encouraged to run for President. Now, she oversees board meetings and committees, participates in California Board of Occupational Therapy (CBOT) meetings, and travels, often to Sacramento, to discuss with policymakers about bills affecting the profession. And, she does this all voluntarily.

About OTAC
In describing OTAC, Dr. Rafeedie said, “OTAC is the only entity that protects our profession in California.” Of OTAC’s 2,500 members, 1,500 are students. But OTAC provides opportunities to support both students and practitioners. First, the OTAC Education Alliance invites all 40 OT and OTA programs in California to join as institutional members, providing resources such as advocacy and leadership lectures and opportunities to meet ACOTE standards. “Our goal is to groom them [students] into becoming leaders,” Dr. Rafeedie said. Since Spring 2025, 7 programs have joined (4 have already paid, and 3 more have checks on the way!). Secondly, the OTAC Education Passport helps members earn continuing education for license renewal, providing a free monthly professional development unit (PDU) that can be applied toward their renewal credits. The success of these initiatives, Dr. Rafeedie said, is testament to the fact that her job cannot be done single-handedly, but is a team effort. A Board of Directors, five regional directors, committee chairs, and lobbyists all play an integral role in making OTAC’s work possible.

Advocacy = Career Insurance
Oftentimes, we assume that if we choose a career not directly related to politics, we avoid it. But politics is everywhere. And as Dr. Rafeedie noted, our profession is inherently political by virtue of being part of healthcare, whether we like it or not. Then, when asked why people should advocate for the profession by joining our national and state associations, her answer was straightforward: it’s like career insurance. Without it, Dr. Rafeedie said, decisions will be made for the profession, often not in our favor. Yet fewer than 4% of practitioners are members of OTAC, leaving much of the profession at risk of being undervalued with fewer opportunities to be effective agents of change.

Advocacy in Practice
Amidst her busy schedule, Dr. Rafeedie still clinically practices, drawing confidence from her involvement with OTAC to ensure OT’s worth is recognized and respected among other healthcare professions. “If you don’t get in there, no one will ever hear your perspective - the OT voice. And if we don’t speak, we lose an opportunity,” she said. She advocates for patients as she does for the profession, ensuring OT is inserted where it belongs and pushing back when necessary. Her voice extends to Chan, from teaching to leading the first annual OTAC ResearchSymposium. “I don’t just do my job, I am the job — I do feel like the President when I am advocating for my patients or for my profession.”

Advice for Students & Practitioners
Whether you’re a new student or practitioner, becoming a member and renewing your membership is the first step. But, Dr. Rafeedie encourages being as proactive as possible. Here are her suggestions:

• Attend OTAC conferences, symposiums, or special topic forums
• Join student organizations like OTSC, PTE, or COTAD
• Talk to professors
• Take the lead on group projects
• Present at conferences
• Volunteer on committees
• Stay informed about efforts by the state and national associations
• Encourage colleagues to join OTAC and AOTA

Going forward, Dr. Rafeedie envisions OTAC will “move away from focusing on the trees so that we can get into the forest.” In other words, she hopes to expand partnerships with larger organizations that can help increase subscriptions to OTAC’s programs from OT and OTA schools throughout the state. She also seeks to enrich the Education Passport by offering continuing education courses that practitioners need for license renewal, and collaborate with healthcare entities, including Cedar-Sinai, Rancho Los Amigos and Kaiser.

The last thing Dr. Rafeedie wanted to share was a quote from Maya Angelou: “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.” She stressed the importance of advocating for yourself rather than complaining, reminding us that being uninvolved only leaves problems unresolved and, as she put it, gets us “chewed up and spit out.” To put it simply, her advice is to be bold and courageous. “Challenge the status quo, take chances, and don’t be so apathetic about the profession.”

While it may seem counterintuitive to advocate for ourselves in a profession centered on compassion for others, it is equally important. Without having compassion (and advocacy) for ourselves, the less we have to give to our patients.

⋯

Grad School in LA… WITHOUT A CAR?!?! ⟩
September 19, 2025, by Trinity

Fieldwork Living in LA

Hello all!

New fieldwork assignments are about to begin, and with that in mind, I wanted to write about navigating the program without a car.

One thing about me is that I HATE driving, especially in Los Angeles. Beyond the actual driving part, paying for parking, finding an affordable gas station, and dealing with car insurance are extra stressors that I have chosen not to take on for the four years I have lived here.

Being able to make this choice is an incredible privilege! While the public transit in Los Angeles does have a bit of a negative reputation, I know I am lucky that this is even an option for me since a car is essential in most American cities. That being said, it does take flexibility, time management, and willingness to make things work to rely on this option for everything.

Here in Los Angeles, most of the public transit does connect to major attractions. For example, I can take the light rail right to famous museums, restaurants, and Union Station. The light rail as well as the Metro buses are covered by USC’s UPASS program, so students can ride for free. Students also get a discount on Metrolink tickets, which connects all of southern California.

Because I have been here for four years, I have gotten fairly used to public transportation and USC shuttles as my main means of getting around. Since most of my life exists on a college campus, this has not been too bad.

However, the fieldwork component of the occupational therapy program has made relying on public transit a bit more challenging (but not impossible). Fieldwork placements can be anywhere within the vicinity of USC, which can mean up to a 2 hour commute away depending on where you stay. Most people get placements that are near their homes, which makes it a better commute.

Still, most people have cars in the program because of the commute and the potential distance to the fieldwork sites. I have gotten really lucky, and I still have not had to bring a car for fieldwork or any other obligations I have here. This is because of my willingness to put location of site as my number one priority as I make my fieldwork wishlists, as well as the generosity of my friends in the program.

My first fieldwork location was a mental health site in Long Beach, California. I was going to take the train, but my lovely fieldwork partner, Angela, picked me up every week. I will be forever grateful that she helped me get to fieldwork, and I definitely owe her one for life! Carpooling is one option that has saved me from getting a car in the program.

Next, I had my pediatric fieldwork in a children’s mental and behavioral health clinic. This location was within walking distance, and I was able to get there with ease every week. It was a huge blessing. Of course, this is not very common. I am not sure anyone else ever had a site as close as mine was to me.

This semester I am doing my geriatrics fieldwork at an assisted living facility in Sierra Madre. I will be taking a combination of public transportation options to get there. I was paired with one of my good friends, Joseph, in the program for this rotation, and we are going to take public transit together.

I still know several other people in the program who do not have cars, so it is definitely possible! There, of course, are elements of compromise. Sometimes, you won’t get your first choice of a site or it may take a while to get there. For me though, it is worth it financially and emotionally to not have a car. This might change with my next rotation, but I am so grateful this has been an option for me thus far. My biggest piece of advice is to make the most out of every fieldwork experience, even if it was not your first choice or if the commute is long. There is always something to learn at every place. Truly, I have been so incredibly lucky in this program!

TLDR: While it can present challenges, it is absolutely possible not to have a car in the program, especially if you are willing to be flexible and lean on others for support.

 

⋯

Beside the Mahjong Table ⟩
September 19, 2025, by Makayla

Community Diversity

The sound of shuffling tiles intermingled with various exclamatory shouts has become synonymous with my memories of family gatherings, as the game of Chinese Mahjong has been an important pastime of mine throughout my childhood. I was often surrounded by this game during these family gatherings, where I would find myself sitting on a miniature stool beside my mother, playing amongst my relatives, fascinated by the quick plays before my eyes, and subconsciously picking up the rules and method of the game. For my family, Mahjong is more than a meaningful activity; it is a generational occupation that contributes to our overall well-being and supports resilience against cognitive decline in older generations. While I hadn’t fully understood the realization at the time, the game of Chinese Mahjong has allowed me not only to grasp my native Chinese roots but also to learn valuable lessons about the art of strategy and calculation applicable to the present, changing world, which requires both to navigate uncertainty and make thoughtful decisions.

Mahjong is an intellectual activity involving four players sitting around a square table who must draw and discard tiles to arrange them in a “perfect” set. One must complement their hand of tiles while memorizing the tiles discarded by their opponents to strategically form special sequences essential for a win. Though simple in explanation, it is complex in playing, as players must take calculated chances on possible risks or play defensively so that other players cannot win.

I often questioned why the older generations of my family were so devoted to this game and what exactly was the fixation that drew them to return to the game every waking moment of our family gatherings. The placement of a single tile can alter the course of the game and the strategies of the opposing players. You must be mindful and strategic in your intentions, since your actions have consequences not only for yourself but also for those around you, requiring full concentration on your own set while remaining aware of the tiles desired by other opponents and those being circulated in the game.

While Mahjong may seem like a leisure activity or family pastime, it is an effective intervention that occupational therapy practitioners may use when supporting healthy aging across the lifespan. The game of Mahjong is not just an activity that sustains social engagement but also serves as a means to alleviate depressive symptoms of older populations in addition to empowering individuals to regain or maintain the ability to stay cognitively engaged. Unique to Mahjong are strategies that require players to integrate working memory, attention, logic, executive function, and intrinsic motivation in ways that complement one another. In doing so, Mahjong provides protective factors against cognitive deterioration while also fostering self-efficacy that contributes to a positive outlook on aging. What began as a family tradition has become a powerful reminder that our personal and cultural identities can shape effective, health-promoting interventions using occupations as both a means and an end goal.

While I am still quite a beginner at this game, I see life as a parallel to Mahjong, as life changes with every move, sometimes as a result of others’ actions or even of your own doing.  Sometimes you must be patient for the serendipitous moment when you find the tile you need to complete a winning set. Other times when the odds are against you, it is important to be cautious in compromising, but when you can’t, you shouldn’t for the sake of protecting your own tiles to win. Mahjong is a metaphor for life; one must take what life throws at you, just like receiving a set of undesirable tiles, to adapt quickly and uncover advantages hidden within setbacks. There is no perfect round or just one strategy to win.

And perhaps that is the draw of the game — because it is so difficult to master. It takes years of experience, a good grasp of body language, and a command of the Chinese language, coupled with a dash of good luck, to be successful.

Every time I return to play Mahjong at family gatherings, I have begun to understand why this activity was more than just a game to me. Looking across the table, I have come to realize the shared bond with my family that not many people can replicate. As a non-native speaker of Chinese, the game of Mahjong has brought me closer to my culture as well as my grandparents. While we are engaged in deep concentration and contemplating strategies in Mahjong, I have recognized that this game forms its own separate language to converse through, strengthening my bonds with my grandparents and relatives while also helping to keep their minds sharp.

As an aspiring occupational therapist, I imagine one day drawing upon my own personal experiences and applying these principles to empower the growth and support the development of the future patients I work with. When I am older, I will congregate at my own mother’s house, where relatives and different walks of life will come together over the game of Mahjong. And this cycle will continue for generations beyond my time.

⋯

How I Muster Up Motivation On The Days I Have None ⟩
September 11, 2025, by Katelyn

Life Hacks School/Life Balance

There are mornings when I just wake up on the wrong side of my bed. Brushing my teeth feels like I’m running a marathon, and my to-do list glares at me menacingly like a villain. These are the days that I feel like my motivation somehow took an unexpected vacation, and I am left trying to drag myself through the day. While I desperately want to curl up in my warm, cozy blankets and have them ward away responsibilities, I do my best to fight back.

This is especially true now that I am in my second year of the E-OTD program. I juggle many roles and responsibilities, from being a Student Ambassador, serving as president of Pi Theta Epsilon (PTE), working at the HSC gym, to making time to network. On paper, it looks like a lot.

I used to think that my lack of motivation on some days meant I was lazy and unproductive. But over time, I’ve learned that motivation isn’t meant to be constant. It’s not a random magical spark that appears daily. Rather, it’s something that is to be created, nurtured, and sometimes borrowed.

Here are some tips I have learned to help me get motivated:

• Start Small - When I think back to when I was working to understand motivation, I find some of these “small tasks” embarrassing and can’t help but laugh. Some of my personal favorites were “just sit in the chair,” “just put on your socks,” or “just turn on the computer.” While they felt like embarrassingly small tasks, they helped me kickstart my engine. Sure, my engine would sputter, stall, and maybe end up with me back on my bed (or sometimes on the floor), but all I needed was that one good crank to get momentum again.
• Enhance Your Environment - Once kick-started, I’d continue my momentum forward by changing my environment to be engaging. For me, that looked like lighting a candle, putting on some calming music (looking back, upbeat music worked better to keep me awake), or moving around the house.
• Reward Yourself - After I’ve set myself up for success, I’d reward myself. This is where it can get a little dicey. Rewards encouraged motivation, but the wrong ones could kill it. I discovered the perfect reward for me was chocolate or something sweet. If I tried a show, my phone, or other forms of screentime, I’d slip down a never-ending rabbit hole of doomscrolling. So remember: reward yourself early on, and find out what reward works best for you and your motivation!
• Borrow Energy From a Friend - Sometimes, all of these tips won’t work. That’s okay! It’s okay to ask for help. Some days, I simply don’t have the energy to generate motivation all on my own. On these days, I call my boyfriend or chat with a friend. Borrowing their energy, even for just a quick moment, to jumpstart my day when my own spark was missing worked like a charm.
• Reframe Your Thinking - In my opinion, this was the hardest part of finding motivation and meaning. It’s easy to think “just get this done” or “get this finished so I can do something else.” Instead, reframe it as “I’m building the skills for the work I want to do.” As an Ambassador, I remind myself that every tabling event or conversation helps me represent the program I believe in. As PTE president, I see each meeting as a chance to foster and lead the community. At the gym, I remind myself that supporting others’ health aligns with my own values. And networking provides me with leadership and professional development. Tying each of these responsibilities helps me transform the things just “in my calendar” into meaningful steps towards the kind, professional person I want to be.

It’s funny. Only now, as I write this blog, do I realize I employed Occupational Therapy (OT) tactics and thinking on myself. Breaking down into smaller steps, changing my environment, or even finding meaning in what I’m doing all mirror many core principles of OT. I guess in a way, I’ve become my own client.

Reflecting now, I realize this is why I love OT so much. OT isn’t just about the clinical settings; it’s about everyday life. Everyone has those days where motivation feels out of reach, but OT gives us the tools to adapt, create, and reconnect with what matters. I hope to continue to take the lessons I learn myself to my future clients.

So, if I caught you on a day that you feel like doing nothing, know that you aren’t lazy or broken. You’re just human. Start small, be kind to yourself, and remember that even the tiniest, most embarrassing step forward counts.

Ta-ta for now!

⋯