Student Blog

Yay USC undergrad OT classes! ⟩
October 3, 2014, by Claire

Classes

Today’s a shoutout post to all USC undergraduate students taking OT courses! A couple weeks ago, Leila and I had the privilege to visit OT classes at the main UPC campus to talk about the Occupational Science minor program. I was also lucky to give a HSC tour with some Bachelor’s-to-Master’s OT students earlier this semester. You guys really rock! As a current Bachelor-to-Master’s OT student (last year already, wow!), these assignments mean a lot to me personally. It was super exciting to see this year’s classes and see how much they have grown. In my freshman year (that was back in 2010!), I took OT310x Creativity Workshop and OT250 Introduction to Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy. I remember a student ambassador coming to talk to us about Occupational Therapy, and it’s so crazy to see everything come full circle. Not only that, that year we had about almost ten students signed up for the Friday morning class, but this year, the class is now double its size! Thank you to all the students for hearing our spiels about how amazing occupational therapy is and how much we love USC OT, and I had so much fun answering any questions that people had. USC Pre-OT club is having their first site visit — go check it out!! Best of luck to all USC undergrads — hope to see you at other USC OT events or at the Master’s program!

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Eyes on the Prize ⟩
October 2, 2014, by Jonathan

Admissions Life Hacks

Hey everyone! Can’t believe it’s officially Fall already! This means a couple things — cooler weather (hopefully), Fall sports (go Lakers, Dodgers, and Trojans!), and application season! For this blog, I’m dedicating it to the hopeful prospective students in the middle of their application process. The application process is a long road, requiring patience, diligence, and sheer determination. Reflecting on my own journey, I can definitely admit that I ran into my own share of challenges. Yes, it can be tedious — taking the GRE, fulfilling prerequisites, requesting letter of recommendations, etc. — at times it can be overwhelming. If you find yourself in this situation, all I can say is, remind yourself what is fueling all your efforts. I think at times, we get so caught up in the process and the end product that we forget why we are doing things in the first place. In my personal experience, I would do my best to give myself daily reminders of my dream. Some ways to do this, which worked for me, include the following:

Reading this blog: I remember meeting Ricardo, a past USC OT student ambassador at OTAC two years ago, and told him that whenever I found myself too caught up in the application process, I would visit this blog to envision what it was like to be a student. In doing so, this would remind me of what I was working towards, and the experiences I would eventually look forward to one day.

Keep immersing yourself in occupational therapy: Listen, you’ve already found your calling, which some people spend their whole lives looking for! Now that you’ve found that OT is for you, then all I can say is start living OT today! Whether that’s volunteering, reading up on research, attending conferences, advocating for OT, etc, it’s never too early to start practicing your calling in life!

Stay balanced: Balance is something we preach in OT everyday. Surround yourself in the meaningful occupations that define who you are, because those occupations will provide perspective, especially if times get rough. I understand that the application process is monumental, but so is living and enjoying your life! In addition, by living a life of balance, you’ll be immersing yourself in a concept that you’ll be emphasizing to all the people you will eventually help one day.

Surround yourself by people who will fuel your fire: By surrounding yourself by people who will support you unconditionally, they’ll be able to give you reminders of why you’re working towards your dream. These are the people who truly understand your passion, and will give you that extra push that you need. Whether that’s family, friends, or a mentor, I can honestly say that without these people in my own life, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

Dream big: Finish this line: When I am an occupational therapist one day, I want to ________. Ask yourself what you want to accomplish as an OT. In doing so, you’ll give yourself that extra motivation as to why you’re engaged in the application process.

Patience, patience, patience: As i mentioned earlier, the application process takes time. It’s human nature to want instant gratification, but good things truly do come to those who wait.

Your best is all you can ask of yourself: Once you turn in your application, celebrate, blast your favorite song, and do your happy dance.  No matter the outcome, you’ve focused all your efforts over the last couple of weeks/months/years towards making your dream come true, which is all you can really ask of yourself. If that same effort shines through when you’re an OT one day,  you’re going to be an amazing clinician.

Hope my words of encouragement serve you all well. Stay determined, stay hungry, and stay focused. It’s all worth it. Best of luck to you all!

— Jonathan

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From Kenya to Los Angeles ⟩
September 29, 2014, by Bindi

Living in LA

I remember landing in Los Angeles, and seeing baseball and American football fields for the first time. It was then that I had my moment of realization that I had left home and was in the United States of America!

I had several chances to realize that, for instance saying goodbye to my wonderful family and my precious dog, Toto, or any time through my 30-hour journey to Los Angeles. But it had to be the football fields!

Of course it was the longest flight of my life but being here at USC has made living through those 30 hours worth it! 5 weeks have gone by in flash and it makes me wonder what I have been up to.

Making the transition from Kenya to Los Angeles has been much easier than I expected it to be. Strange but I wasn’t anxious about the big move to LA despite this being my first time in USA and that is all because I had all the information I needed weeks before I left Kenya. I knew exactly where I was going to live, how I will be commuting to the Health Sciences Campus and back to the accommodation. I got everything I needed to know from the emails that Kim and Liz would send including the daunting tasks like applying to the program and visa application procedures.

We had a series of events to orient and integrating International students into the Trojan family such as the student orientations, reception dinner and mentor-mentee programs. The highlight of our first week of classes was of course the White Coat ceremony. It was different compared to other universities around the world, and I too believe the oath should be taken at the beginning of the course rather than the graduation. The ceremony re-instilled the values of occupational therapy and our commitment to becoming better OTs.

Living at the OT house (Centennial Apartments) has to be one of the best decisions I made for many reasons. The best reason being meeting my roommate, Kathleen, a second year MA2 student. She has been such help to me and I wouldn’t be having half as good of a time as I am having right now without her. With her I managed to attend many events such as the interdisciplinary health mixer at Dockweiler beach, the Los Angeles County Fair, the Greek festival and we watched several movies at the European Film Festival. We are taking full advantage of all the good and fun things USC has to offer.

Residing at the University Park Campus opens up opportunities to attend all the fun events they host. One of the first one I attended was the welcome back concert where they had Nico and Vinz perform. I especially enjoyed the concert because they had a good African groove to their music.

My American experience wouldn’t be complete without exploring the Greek sororities and fraternities. Not only did I go to ‘frat party’ but I also rushed for a leadership fraternity Delta Omicron Zeta for about half a week before I decided that it wasn’t for me. I just know where to go when I need to take a break from being a responsible graduate student.

So far I love being at USC and a part of the Trojan Family. Fight on Trojans!

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Hey, hey, hey check out our NEW name! ⟩
September 26, 2014, by Kristy

As you have seen, or heard, or maybe not, our division recently received a large donation in which a renaming ceremony took place.  We are now called the USC Mrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy.  It was such an honor to be a part of this historic ceremony!  And I do really mean HISTORIC, this is the first time any division of occupational therapy has been given a monetary amount of this multitude.  We all at the Division feel very lucky that the Chan family donated money to our division to expand the research of occupational science and occupational therapy, and also increase our international relations, specifically with our colleagues in China.

Historic moments are nothing new to our Division. Did you know USC had the first post-professional degree program in occupational therapy in 1947? Or that in 1962, USC established the nation’s first two-year entry-level master’s degree?  Or in 1989, USC created the world’s first doctoral program in occupational science?  It is no wonder that we have remained ranked the #1 occupational therapy graduate program in the nation for more years than all other educational programs combined!  For more on history of USC Mrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, visit this link

Fight on, Trojans! Fight on!

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Prospective students, just some words of encouragement ⟩
September 26, 2014, by Brenda

Admissions

A couple days ago, we hosted an information session for prospective students here on the Health Science Campus where our classes are held. It was my first information session as a student ambassador and I was able to talk about my experiences with the curriculum and about all the wonderful things I am currently involved with. In talking to those present that evening, it made me remember that not too long ago, I was in their same shoes. I remember being anxious, a bit overwhelmed, contemplating all the “what-ifs” of the application process.

But now . . . here I am! In my second year of the program!

I wanted to take some time to remind everyone who is currently in the process of applying to USC and/or other occupational therapies, IT IS ALL WORTH IT! Occupational therapy is an incredible field and while getting into a program may seem daunting at times, you have clearly chosen great profession. When you are done with submitting your applications, make sure to engage in your own enjoyable occupations! Whether it is treating yourself with your favorite food, taking a day trip to a local state park, or just relaxing while watching your favorite movie, you will have earned it!

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