Student Blog

Spring Schedule: Balancing Class, Work, Extracurriculars ⟩
January 22, 2019, by Serena

Life Hacks School/Life Balance

This semester is my last academic semester as an OT Master’s student! The program went by so quickly. Feels like yesterday that I was at the 2017 newly admitted student reception.

In the last semester of the Entry Level Master’s Program, you are required to take a Leadership Capstone and Advanced Seminar in Occupational Science course to hone in on the foundations of OT and OS and what it means to be a leader in the field.

Additionally, you will be given the ability to select from a wide range of of electives where you can focus more on your specific areas of interest such as health and wellness, sensory integration, Spanish medical terminology, acute rehab, hand rehabilitation, motor control, and the list goes on and on. Since my passion is health promotion, behavior change, and lifestyle interventions, I have decided to enroll in Current Applications of Lifestyle Redesign, Optimal Living with Multiple Sclerosis, Therapeutic Communication, and Occupational Therapy in Primary Health Care Environments.

Besides course work, within the USC Chan division I will continue to serve as a Care Team Coordinator for the Student Run Clinic (SRC), and as a member of the Diversity, Access, and Equity (DAE) Committee. Outside the division I will continue to practice yoga, hike, and uphold my role as a member of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) organization working on the behavior change sub-committee.

Balancing all of my passions and interests can be a challenge at times so what do I do to manage?  I participate in a lot of energy restoring activities (e.g., yoga, hiking, meditation) and make sure that all of my extracurriculars are things that I genuinely enjoy and love doing. While in the program there are many ways that you can receive help balancing the two. For instance, the professors embed assignments that focus on helping you achieve a more balanced and healthy life. In addition, there are services (some of which are free) that you can receive as a student where you can get one-on-one attention with an OT who specializes in helping you stay balanced: USC Kortschak Center for Learning and Creativity (KCLC) and the Occupational Therapy Faculty Practice (OTFP).

If any of these courses, extracurriculars, or services interest you, please reach out to me and I would love to tell you more about them or answer any questions you may have.

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Winter Break Occupations ⟩
January 18, 2019, by Jessica P.

School/Life Balance What are OS/OT?

After a month long winter break, I am finally back on campus! Coming back for spring semester I always feel refreshed and excited after having some time off. The past few weeks I’ve found time to relax with family, catch up with friends, and even re-engage in some of my favorite, meaningful occupations.

I was able to spend time volunteering with PressFriends, an organization I have been involved with since I was in high school. As a mentor, I get to go to elementary schools in the Los Angeles area and help them develop after school newspaper programs.

My mom, sister, and I spent time visiting Georgia for the first time.

I even was able to engage in meaningful occupations while fulfilling the not so fun occupation of jury duty. During our long lunch breaks from the courthouse, I explored the wonderful food Downtown LA has to offer. I was a frequent customer at Grand Central Market where you can you can pretty much find any type of food you could ever want.

And of course, my favorite occupation of all — spending time with my dogs.

I know that this next (and my last!!) semester is going to fly by and I can’t wait for all of the adventures to come!

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Some People are Worth Melting For ⟩
January 15, 2019, by Joyce

Getting Involved What are OS/OT?

This winter break I decided to do something a little bit different. Instead of flying back home to NYC, I decided to spend it in LA with the friends I made here. The entire city felt a little bit different. I wasn’t rushing to class or to the clinic. I had more time to actually clean my room and my loads of laundry. I could stay up watching midnight movies because there was nothing to wake up to the next morning. No studying . . . nothing.

I’m not exactly sure what my plans after graduation will be so I wanted to take advantage of this city while I still had the chance. Looking back, I was shocked to see how my life in LA filled up with a strong supportive network of beautiful souls.

Here are some highlights.

Admission Holiday Lunch

As many of you might understand, it’s almost impossible to get everyone together in one place for one meal. So it was heartwarming to get together with the admissions team for a sit down meal outside of school. We went to San Antonio Winery for lunch and it was a great start to the holiday festivities as we engaged in conversations that were non-work related, ate great food, and just got to know each other a little bit more.

Cabin Fever

With my closest OT sisters, I went on a cabin trip to Big Bear Lake. This was my first time there! We rented out an Airbnb and did absolutely nothing but chilled. We watched Lord of the Rings and Moana. We cooked KBBQ, tacos, and yes . . . a kale salad. We baked cookies at 10pm because we wanted to. The snow was melting during our stay, but it was nice to get away from the city for a week to breathe in fresh air and enjoy the stars at night!

Mario-Kart IRL

No I did not win . . . I went go-karting this winter break and I realized that it was not as easy as they make it look like in the games. I raced twice. The first time, I wasn’t sure what to exactly to expect so I was very anxious. The go-karts themselves go up to 40MPH and I do not bode well with speed. I was that person . . . blocking everyone else . . . holding people up . . . oh and did I mention I rammed right into the wall? The second time around, I realized that I wanted to just enjoy the ride and thought of it as a leisure ride. I let the fast speeders go past me. I don’t mind being last place!

Winter break was a nice time to enjoy and explore the city of Los Angeles without the schedule and structure of school/work. However, I’m really excited for the new things that are happening this spring semester, like externships, electives, graduating . . . but that’s for a later post!

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Presentation in South Korea ⟩
January 14, 2019, by Goeun

Getting Involved International

The new year has begun so as the new semester! Winter break has gone fast. During the winter break, I was back in my home country, Korea. I had a wonderful time back in there and I’d like to share some of my memories.

I was in Korea for three weeks and I visited a lot of places. I’m originally from Gwangju which is in the southern part of Korea. However, I went to a university in Daejeon, the middle part, so I went there to visit a professor and give a presentation about the Post-Professional Master’s Program for students at the university. Also, I worked in Jeonju before I came here, so I went there to visit the hospital where I worked and see my previous co-workers. I also went to Seoul and Daegu to visit my friends and went to Jeju Island with my family.

I went so many places and I’d love to introduce every places, but this time, I’ll tell you more about the presentation that I did. I planned for this while I was in here during the Fall semester. I was contacting with the professor from the university that I went, and got a chance to present about the Post-Professional Master’s Program in the USC Chan Division of Occupational Therapy and Occupational Science, which I’m currently studying as well as Pre-Master’s Program from the USC International Academy which I did before the Post-Professional Master’s Program and SOTI Program from the Global Initiatives. It was a great opportunity for me to present about the program in my country as a student ambassador in the USC Chan Division and a senior from the university in Korea.

In the presentation, there were about 50 students mostly freshmen and sophomore who are interested in studying abroad. Like I mentioned earlier, I presented about the Post-Professional Master’s Program, Premaster’s Program, and SOTI Program. Also, I told them my experiences what I prepared to study in here from learning English to applying and adjusting to a new country.

It was so great to meet the students, introduce the programs, and tell my story. Lastly, since I’m the first student from my university who study abroad, I hope more students would come later as Post-Professional Master’s students or a SOTI program participants.

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American College of Lifestyle Medicine Conference ⟩
January 11, 2019, by Serena

Getting Involved What are OS/OT?

Last semester seemed like a whirlwind. My academic workload consisted of 4 courses: Health Promotion and Wellness, Adulthood and Aging, Occupation-Centered Programs for the Community, and the Mental Health immersion. Apart from classwork, I also completed my Level I Fieldwork at USC’s Kortschak Center for Learning and Creativity, tabled and advocated for OT at various events such as the Latino Expo Event, and held the role as a Care Team Coordinator for the Student Run Clinic. One of my biggest accomplishments was attending two conferences. I previously mentioned the OTAC conference in Pasadena, California, and I would love to tell you more about the second conference I attended: the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) conference in Indiana.

What is the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM)?
The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) is a a healthcare association dedicated to preventing, managing, and reversing chronic diseases with lifestyle interventions. The ACLM healthcare professionals strive to place a greater emphasis on helping clients sustain healthier lifestyles such as engaging in health promoting diets, regular physical activity, adequate sleep, stress management, and avoidance of substance and drug misuse.

My top 5 reasons for attending the ACLM conference.

1. Further my education in lifestyle medicine: Attend seminars and lectures led by renowned healthcare professionals in the field of Lifestyle Medicine (LM) like Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. Colin Campbell, Dr. Dean Ornish, and Dr. Wayne Dysinger (whose wife happens to be an OT 😊).

2. Learn about and advocate for OTs role in LM: At the conference I was the only individual in the field of OT. It is an amazing feeling to be able to advocate for our profession in the growing field of LM since we are trained to address lifestyle changes with a focus on habits and routines.

3. Focus on my passion: I love being able to combine my interests with my profession.

4. Meet and connect with other healthcare professionals with the same interests: One of the highlights of the event was being surrounded by people who not only wanted to help others live a healthier and happier life but they too were practicing a healthy lifestyle. For example, all of the food at the conference was whole food plant-based and a 5k walk during the conference was built within the schedule. Talk about work life balance!

5. Gain skills to then go back home and make a change to my life and to the lives of others: I am grateful to have a roommate who is a medical student, Kacie Amacher, and also attended the conference. We are both passionate about helping others live a healthier life. Most importantly we realize the importance of the change first having to start with our own habits and routines.

Words of Advice
During your own OT journey, whether it be before, during, or after your academic career, I would highly suggest attending a conference related to your interests. Especially an interest where you feel OT may belong but lacks a wide presence. If you have any questions at all about ACLM and OTs involvement please feel free to contact me!

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