Student Blog

Dreams are our Reality ⟩
September 18, 2019, by Japeth

Diversity Getting Involved International Living in LA

As I previously mentioned, USC Chan really knows how to welcome each and every student. Everyone makes sure that students feel the warmth and excitement of the entire Chan Division. Another way of them welcoming the international students is the Annual Welcome party at the Program Director’s house! We are very lucky to be able to spend time together as a cohort, together with Dr. Sarah Bream, Dr. Daniel Park, Dr. Emily Ochi, and other OT students from the Global Initiatives.

It was kind enough of the faculty to prepare a bus ride, food (both meat and vegetarian!), desserts, and games! While Dr. Ochi was busy preparing the snacks and desserts and Dr. Park was also busy grilling the burger patties, the students from Global Initiatives made sure that we take time to get to know each other more and learn from everyone’s experiences. We played a game called “Two truths and a lie”. In this game, each of us needed to say two honest statements that pertain to ourselves and a lie that should really sound like an honest statement too! Here’s the catch: the more the lie sounds real, the more everyone gets confused, and of course the more the game gets exciting!

After the game, Dr. Park called us to go to the backyard to start eating! (I actually ate two vegetable patties and one meat patty, that’s how yummy they were!!) Now, I’m sure you are wondering how the title is connected to this content . . . hang on, were getting there! The highlight of this welcome bbq party, to me, was not just the yummy food or the games. It was the part where we had to write on a piece of paper, things about us and our dreams or wishes for this academic year. Most of us had a graduation wish among our three wishes. Of course, who doesn’t want to graduate, right? Almost all of us had the same wishes and it made us all feel even more connected with each other. Dr. Ochi and Dr. Park also shared their own work! All I can say is that both of them are genuine and caring occupational therapists that act not only as our mentors, but also our family away from home.

I am sure that after a year filled with fun and learning, our dreams will turn into our reality!

FIGHT ON!

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Pin Your Way Through School and Life ⟩
September 16, 2019, by Kat

Life Hacks

First off, if you don’t have a Pinterest account, stop reading this and go create an account. Now that we have that squared away, Pinterest saves lives! I started using the site back in high school, and have continued now into my graduate studies. I can honestly say that I have used this resource countless times over the years. You can find almost anything you can think of on this site and save it by “pinning” it to different boards that you create. Plus they have an app which makes it super convenient to have on your phone. Pinterest is known for being the go-to place for DIY’s, which it is. But it is also my go-to place to find recipes, fitness motivation, and even hairstyle inspiration for my curly hair. Over the years of using Pinterest, I have created a lot of boards and pinned tons of things. I’d like to share some of the items I have saved and some tips on how to search and use the site:

1. Meal Prepping
   Meal prepping makes balancing graduate school, work, and trying to eat healthy while on a budget doable. Personally, I am not a plain baked chicken, with plain rice, and plain veggies kind of girl. I like to eat well seasoned and spiced up food. This is where Pinterest helps me find new and exciting recipes to try. When searching for a new meal to try, it depends on the mood I am in. Sometimes I’ll search for quick easy dinners while other times I search for a specific dish like roasted vegetables. Here is a pin that has 30 minute meal prepping ideas.
2. Self-Care
   Self-care is important at any stage in life. Finding time for self-care with a busy schedule can seem like a chore. At least for me it can be. Searching for self-care pins has broadened my perspective on what self-care means. One pin in particular that has helped me is 6 Types of Self-Care. This sight breaks self-care down into 6 categories: physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, social, and sensory. Viewing self-care in this manner has helped me follow through with remembering to take time for myself.
3. Study Habits
   Coming into graduate school, I had a pretty good idea of what study habits worked for me. I am a visual learner and I need to write things out so I can get kinesthetic feedback. However, with different classes and types of materials, sometimes I need to switch up my study approach. Search terms such as study habits college or study habits for exams have provided useful tips.
4. OT Interventions
   Believe it or not, you can even find OT intervention ideas on Pinterest. This past summer, I did my level II fieldwork at an outpatient sensory integration clinic. Towards the end of my fieldwork, I managed my own caseload of clients and was responsible for creating interventions, or activities, for each client based on their age, diagnosis, and interests. In searching OT interventions for kids on Pinterest, I came across a fun pizza making craft activity that I then tailored to match the skills that clients were working towards to meet their goals. Making pizza was a hit with my clients! They were very engaged!

Long story short . . . there are pins out there for everything. Pinterest has millions of ideas that you can add your own spin to and make your own. Just play around with search terms and word combinations. Happy pinning!

*Disclaimer: Not sponsored by Pinterest. I just wanted to pass along a resource.*

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More Travelling with Less Money ⟩
September 13, 2019, by Kaho

Life Hacks

One of my favorite occupations is to travel. I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been flying internationally since I was 4 years old between Japan and the US, but I have MAJOR wanderlust. For a student who is pursuing her master’s degree and possibly a doctorate degree (on top of pre-existing loans from undergrad), this is a struggle. There’s a constant battle between saving money and engaging in what I love to do, but I made a promise to myself my senior year of high school that I would visit at least 1 new country every year for as long as my career/life allows. To date, I’ve been to Japan, USA, Canada, Taiwan, Germany, Italy, Thailand, Indonesia, Greece, Spain, and Mexico. Over the past several years, I’ve accumulated some knowledge on how to travel on a low budget, so I’d like to share three tips with you today:

Use multiple apps/websites to compare flight ticket prices
I like to look on an app called Skyscanner before even deciding my destination. On there, you can set your destination to “Anywhere” and just select the month you’d like to travel. They’ll list out all of the countries you can fly to by price, and then you can see which city is cheapest within that country. This past summer, I flew to Spain from LAX for just $300 roundtrip!! Staying flexible and keeping your search general is key to finding cheap flights. Then, I go on other sites like Kayak and cheapflights.com to see if there are any better deals. Keep in mind that usually, the longer the layover, the cheaper the ticket. Most people dread long layovers, but use it to your advantage! With several hours, you can leave the airport and explore that city too. You can knock out two birds with one stone.

Pack light in a backpack and stay in hostels
Trade your bulky suitcase in for a backpacking backpack. Mine holds 50 L and it has padded straps around my hips and chest, so I can fit a lot in there and still be able to carry it around comfortably. I use this so that it’s easy to always be on the go. I usually visit multiple cities when I travel, so I don’t stay put in one place for long. This requires me to move about with all of my belongings on me. Dragging a suitcase behind me all day would limit my mobility and occupy my hands, which I need to take photos, read maps, etc. I also hop from hostel to hostel because they’re cheap and easy to book for just a few nights. I use Hostelworld to find them. The majority of my day is spent outdoors exploring anyway, so I don’t need fancy accommodation, I just need a place to shower and sleep. I’ve stayed in hostels that range from $10-$30/night, which allows me to spend more on activities and cultural experiences. Staying in hostels also allows me to meet people from all over the world that love to travel, like me. They often have amazing stories to share about their current and past journeys!

Use public transportation
I totally understand that being in a new country (that is often non-English-speaking) is scary. It’s tempting to just call a taxi or sign up for a tour that takes care of transportation for you. However, public transportation is usually the cheapest mode of transportation in any country and many countries have a better system than the US. I recently started using something called Mapway. They have a different app for each major city with a developed transit system. You simply put in your starting point and destination and the app will figure out the best route for you. It’ll tell you what train line to get on from what station, when and how to transfer to another line if need be, and it’ll even tell you whether you should ride towards the front or back of the train to be near the exit at your stop! Using public transportation will allow you to dive deeper into the country’s culture and have you feeling like a local. 😀

There’s so many more tips for money-saving on trips and I’m still learning more and more each time I travel. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions, want to hear more, or have some tips of your own! I’d love to hear about them. Happy Travelling!

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Let’s Eat! ⟩
September 11, 2019, by Kevin

Housing and Transportation Life Hacks Living in LA

For many of us living in LA or new to the area eating is one of our most cherished occupations. Last year on campus, I spent some quality time “researching” the best food on the HSC campus . . . so loosen up a notch on that belt and let’s eat.

Food Trucks
While they may not always be the healthiest option, the food trucks around campus offer some of the best local cuisine your money can buy! With a wide variety of options from gyros to burgers, there is something delicious for everyone’s taste. Personally, I visited the La Estrella truck every Tuesday to get some of the best pastor tacos and burritos I’ve ever had. If you plan to go to any of the food trucks during lunch, budget at least fifteen to thirty minutes of time because the lines grow quick. Additionally, some of the trucks have an extra card charge, so plan to bring cash.

Farmer’s Markets
There are two amazing farmer’s markets on/near campus every week that have some awesome food options that are both affordable and healthy! Every Tuesday, the Keck Farmers Market comes to the Health Science Campus and quickly became popular within our cohort. It’s a little bit of a walk, so grab a friend or two and plan for about a five minute walk each way. Despite the walk, the food is well worth the trek! If you miss this farmers market, don’t worry, several of the vendors also come to the Pappas Quad located near the Norris Medical Library on Wednesday or Thursday. Some of my favorites from the Farmer’s Market include giant spicy tuna sushi burritos, pita with hummus, and pupusas. Not only are the hot meals tasty, the farmers market offers a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. If you aren’t sold on the farmers market already . . . then you are about to be! The market offers a healthy community eating program called the Veggie Buck program that allows you to purchase a token to double your purchases of the fresh produce. Furthermore, any produce that does not sell by the end of the week is donated and distributed to families in the community.

On-Campus Dining
If those first two options aren’t your taste, then there are great options for eating on campus. If you are looking for a quick pick-me-up before class or during breaks, check out the Quench Juice Bar. Quench has great drinks and sandwiches if you are like me and forget to pack lunch. If you are looking for more options, then take a quick walk over to the Plaza Marketplace which has some more recognizable favorites such as Starbucks and Panda Express.

Want to take your campus dining up a notch? Then reserve a table at the only full-service restaurant on campus, The Edmondson, for a special occasion.

Off-Campus Dining
There are so many great food options in Los Angeles so explore!

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Course Catalogue Queen ⟩
September 9, 2019, by Noelle

Classes Life Hacks

During my first advisement meeting of college, I was told that the credits I brought in from high school allowed me to double major, double minor, or potentially do both!  As an eager freshman, I took that statement as suggestion and immediately threw myself into the USC catalogue, frantically scribbling lists of interesting classes, minor and major unit requirements etc. Two hours, about 80 tabs, and 3 existential crises later, I paused to survey my lists hoping to see a clear path. What I ended up with was the opposite — one or two classes in a whole bunch of schools/studies. It was then when I asked myself, “Why am I doing this? Do I actually want to minor in something, or do I just want to be able to say I did?” It was an important question and I’m glad I checked myself. I had spent the previous four years doing everything I thought I had to do to get into a good school, including a lot of things I didn’t really want to do. I don’t regret that at all because it got me where I am, but as I contemplated what I wanted out of the next four years, I realized that it would be dangerous to continue to do things just “for the resume”. After all, I was at USC and there are endless things to engage in that are both personally and professionally fulfilling. I recognized that college was a rare time in life to take risks and explore new subjects and it would be a waste of time and opportunity to be bound to what other people see as prestigious and how they measure success. So, I took my lists of classes and ran. I was introduced to new occupations like ballroom dance, drums, and ceramics. I challenged myself and took financial and managerial accounting and web design. And I looked for opportunities to expand my perspective on health in eastern medicine, bionics, gerontology, and health promotion classes.

I was spoiled in undergrad and I know it. And I am grateful that my hodgepodge of interests is an asset to my future practice as an OT. I’ve noticed a similar trend in my classmates in the division. I am surrounded by people who studied philosophy, marketing, biology, who teach yoga classes, build puzzles, served in the military, and had multiple careers before coming to OT school. We are an interesting bunch her at Chan, and we all share the value of meaningful engagement for the clients we serve and ourselves.

Check out Visions and Voices, Sidney Harman Academy for Polymathic Study, and the Ahmanson Lab for some interdisciplinary activities available to undergrad/grad students and alumni. 

This week’s song pick: “Back Pocket” by Vulfpeck

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