Student Blog
Where Should I Live?: OT House vs. Off Campus Housing ⟩
January 27, 2016, by Ariel
When I was first admitted at USC for my masters in occupational therapy, my first thought was “I’m so friggin’ ecstatic!” My second thought: “Where should I live???”
As a bay-area native, I was looking at uprooting myself from my post-undergrad living situation (read: my parents’ basement) and relocating to sunny Los Angeles. The OT department offers a house (The OT House) for occupational therapy students to live in, if they so choose. Alternatively, I could find housing off campus on my own.
As a student ambassador, lots of newly admitted students ask me about what factors influenced me in making my own housing decision. Here are my thoughts:
Each housing situation comes with its own set of considerations. When making the decision, it’s important to think of which of these factors is most important to you.
USC Centennial Apartments, where the OT House is located
OT House Considerations
- geared towards students, lease available by the semester (if desired)
- I wouldn’t have to worry about running around to open houses around LA to try and find the right spot/roommates
- built in OT study buddies!
- OT professor on my floor, who I could potentially make a great connection with
- facilities are nice considering the cost
- free shuttle that takes students to and from the health science campus (where we have almost all of our classes)
- opportunity to partake in weekly events with ENGAGE, a program that works with at-risk youth by giving them opportunities to participate in activities from arts and crafts to cooking to science experiments.
- right near the USC OT department’s Center for Occupation and Lifestyle Redesign (a beautiful Victorian house where we have department events and can study)
- close proximity to the USC main campus, which gives easier access to student life, campus events, screenings, performances, etc.
- a bit further from where we have classes every day
Off-Campus Housing Considerations
- flexibility in choosing which neighborhood I’d like to live in and who my roommates are
- (relative) flexibility in determining how much I would like to pay each month
- ability to live closer to the health science campus, where we have classes every day (or right next to the beach, if that’s your priority!)
- more homey environment/less of a dorm-like environment
Ultimately I made the decision to live in the Echo Park/Silverlake area; I really liked the feel of the neighborhood, found a spot with really great roommates (all USC alums!), and got incredibly cheap rent. I love it because I have autonomy, and I appreciate coming home to people who are not in our program, since we spend the majority of our days with our classmates! The apartment I chose is a 9-minute drive to the Health Science campus without traffic, and rarely more than 15 minutes even in heavy traffic.
In terms of actually finding housing, I didn’t have too much trouble finding a spot as soon as I started. I actually found a few fellow soon-to-be OT students through our class’s Facebook group and we all did some neighborhood-hunting together during the Admitted Students Reception weekend. The main neighborhoods I considered heavily (due to proximity to campus, cost, and “walkability”) were Pasadena, South Pasadena, Echo Park, Silverlake, Los Feliz, and Downtown LA. Friends of mine chose to live in areas like Culver City, Santa Monica, Venice, and Glendale. *Pro tip for incoming OT students*: Sometimes the graduating second year OT students post in the incoming class’s Facebook group because they’ll be leaving their apartments around the same time you guys will be moving in!
However you choose to approach the housing hunt, make sure you research the neighborhood and the opportunities available to you in each location. Talk to others who have gone through the same decision-making process, and don’t let yourself get too stressed out — we all found housing in the end!
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New Year, New You ⟩
January 22, 2016, by Joe
It’s the start of my last semester in the MA program, and in some ways it feels totally new.
One of the unique parts of our program is that during this final semester, we get to take electives in addition to the required leadership & occupational science course. A lot of my classmates are using this opportunity to get started on specializations and certifications, such as fellow ambassador Heather who is immersed in hand therapy courses.
I’m a bit more eclectic in my approach . . .
Therapeutic Communication for the Healthcare Practitioner
I’m loving this experiential training course for learning Motivational Interviewing (MI), a really powerful communication tool to help clients settle ambivalence and motivate them towards behavior change. We spend a lot of time in class actually practicing MI skills, which has been so helpful that I find myself using it even among my friends.
Lifestyle Redesign
I came to USC OT because of my interest in helping people live better, healthier lives through changing their habits & routines. Lifestyle Redesign is a signature practice of USC, and I feel really shows the power of OT in helping people sustain a healthy lifestyle. We are paired with a partner for the semester to use the Lifestyle Redesign intervention approach. I’m really excited for both myself and my dear friend & fellow ambassador Rashelle will come out of the semester with even healthier lifestyles as well as strong Lifestyle Redesign skills.
Independent Study Project
I’m also working with Dr. Jenny Martinez on developing a diversity-related initiative with two of my classmates;we’ve only had one planning meeting so far, but our goal is to develop a project to support “best practices” with clients of diverse backgrounds.
Social Entrepreneurship
For our electives, we can take some courses outside of OT, so I elected to take a course from the Master’s of Business Administration program. Social Entrepreneurship essentially looks at how to develop a business model to address social change in social justice, environmental, and/or healthcare fields (or more!). So far, it’s been one of my most exciting classes, and I’ve been generating so many ideas on different ways to deliver healthcare services, and ways non-profit and for-profit models can balance each other for greater social good.
It’s an exciting semester! I can’t believe the program is almost done!
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It’s That Time of Year Again! ⟩
January 14, 2016, by Jodie
Hello everyone!
As you have probably already read from the other ambassadors’ blogs, we are back from our month long winter break! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season with their family and friends. :lol: I can’t believe that this is our last semester before we graduate in May and then complete our last level II fieldwork! It has been very exciting meeting current applicants and prospective students visiting our campus.
I remember when I was waiting to hear back from USC in regards to my admission status, I was so anxious and nervous. I must have checked my emails at least 20 times a day and my mailbox sometimes twice a day (even on Sundays when we don’t get mail! :ohh:). When I received my admissions letter in the mail, I remember I couldn’t stop crying because this was my biggest dream come true and all the hard work really felt like it paid off. For those of you who have applied to our program and are currently waiting to hear back about your admission status, try your best to just enjoy this time you have now that you’ve completed and submitted your apps. That in itself is such a great accomplishment and you should definitely reward yourself by doing something to relax!
My parents always remind me that “what is meant to be, will be” and I think this is a great motto to always keep in mind, especially when waiting to hear back from schools. Don’t forget that the student ambassadors are always available to you and you can reach out to us anytime with questions or concerns you may have about student life here at USC OT! Best of luck to everyone who has applied to our program! I hope to meet many of you within these upcoming months :cheese:.
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The Highs and Highers of 2015 ⟩
January 14, 2016, by Rashelle
Happy New Year everyone!
In a nutshell, 2015 was a tremendous year! I graduated with my Bachelor’s of Science in Occupational Therapy from USC, I completed my final two practice immersions in pediatrics and adult physical rehabilitation, then, I ultimately said farewell to my amazing cohort.
I developed a community project proposal, which I could envision myself implementing as I become a more seasoned clinician; I learned how to cook easy, cheap and healthy meals; and I created everlasting friendships with my OT friends through our class trips to Big Bear Mountain, Las Vegas, and every pocket of Los Angeles from Venice Beach, Santa Monica, Korea Town, Little Tokyo, Hollywood, Pasadena and Downtown Los Angeles.
Big Bear Lookout
Through all of these events, I’ve grown as an individual professionally, personally, socially, spiritually, and thankfully avoided growing horizontally! When thinking about all the ways in which I’ve matured, I’ve realized that I can owe almost all of it to being in this program. The occupational therapy program at USC truly embraces the holistic lens of our profession, cultivating individuals in every aspect of their lives. For example, in classes such as Health Promotion and Wellness, we are guided in exercises promoting self-analysis and goal setting, in order to integrate healthy habits into our daily lives. Not only is stress management crucial for our future patients, but also relevant in our own lives as graduate students! Furthermore, in the OT & Faith bible study, which took place during lunch, we learned about the overlap between our personal beliefs and professionalism.
Bible Study Group
Then, just a few days ago we had our first class in our leadership capstone course. While each class we have taken thus far emphasizes becoming a leader in whichever practice area we pursue, I am excited to learn about specific qualities, traits, actions and leadership styles that will help me excel further in life. Lastly, while we are no longer studying our practice immersions in cohorts, I am looking forward to delving into electives of interest with new classmates — particularly those from the Post-Professional Master’s Degree (MA I) Program, and the Doctorate of Occupational Therapy (OTD) Program. While 2015 was glorious, I know that 2016 will provide even more memories to cherish as we come to the end of our program, and enter the real world.
Ready or not, here we come (shortly)!
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Ellen Loves Occupational Therapy ⟩
January 12, 2016, by Ariel
Hey guess what! Ellen Degeneres gave a shout out (and a whole lotta love) to occupational therapy on her talk show the other day.
Meet Ashlyn: Ashlyn works as an occupational therapist in one of the nation’s most poverty-stricken counties, and is making an amazing difference with her positive energy and generous spirit.
”. . . these kids make it so worthwhile. The best part of my job would have to be helping these kids and putting a smile on their face, knowing that I’m helping and making a difference. That is the most amazing thing.”
Happy Tuesday everyone!
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