Student Blog

Great News for a Great School ⟩
September 23, 2014, by Leila

International

If you haven’t heard or seen yet, our division has been renamed USC Mrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy! Try saying that 3x fast!

USC Trustee Ronnie C. Chan and his wife have dedicated $20 million to USC’s groundbreaking occupational science and occupational therapy program. This is the first naming gift and largest ever made to ANY OT program in the history of OT according to the AOTA. This is huge for our division and will extend to the international field in its efforts to establish a partnership with a top Chinese university to develop a graduate program in occupational therapy in China. With interest in the international field of OT, I think this is great! Perhaps in the future I will get to travel there.

The big reveal was held last Wednesday, September 17th and what a surprise it was! USC’s President C.L Max Nikias was present, along with Dean Dr. Avishai Sadan, Associate Dean Dr. Florence Clark, Trustee Ronnie Chan, his wife Barbara, his sons Adley and Adriel and Chan’s mother Mrs. T.H. Chan. The division was named in honor of Chan’s mother. Along with the huge reveal, we were provided with brand new white coats, t-shirts and accessories with our new name!

It’s such a great feeling to be a part of history here as a student at USC Mrs. T.H. Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy. Phew! ☺

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Aloha ‘Oe, Until We Meet Again ⟩
September 12, 2014, by Jonathan

Fieldwork

Over the Summer, I was fortunate enough to receive an opportunity to do my level II fieldwork (3 month full time internship) at the Veteran’s Affairs Hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii. The experience was nothing short of epic; Hawaii is an amazing place with so much untarnished beauty, friendly people, great food, and amazing surf! I was afforded an opportunity to immerse myself within an occupational therapy physical disabilities setting, where I was able to improve my skills as a future clinician. It was an extremely rewarding experience working with the heroes who have served our country, who shared with me so much wisdom, knowledge, and gratitude as I got to know/work with them in therapy. In addition, I was welcomed in like family by the rehab team at the Veteran’s Affairs Hospital, who made me part of their Ohana from day one.

I’ve been told many times that the culture infused at the workplace will ultimately make the work place, and I can honestly say that at the Honolulu VA, they’ve established the right culture and have found the winning formula: Give aloha, receive aloha. If you can show people that you care, that you believe in them, and that your efforts are fueled by your passion, it really is incredible what can happen.

With that said, I definitely miss Hawaii, my vets, my rehab Ohana, and the friends that I made over there, but it does give me plenty of great reasons to visit again soon! Who knows, I may even even call it home one day 😉

Aloha for now,
Jonathan

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Sharing is Caring ⟩
September 8, 2014, by Leila

Community

How quickly the time is going, we are already in our 3rd week of classes! I’m starting to adjust being a student again and now taking on the role as a student ambassador.

We just had our White Coat Ceremony for the class of 2016 and the event was a success! It was great to be part of the event and see all the wonderful new faces of our OT program with their white coats on.

Fortunately, I get to work with amazing people. With more school events to come, I look forward to the adventures we will have!

My fellow student ambassador Claire and I work together and within the first week of school/work we were already swapping shoes! She needed some closed-toe shoes and luckily I was wearing some. Regardless of our 1 size shoe difference, we managed to make it work. That is what fellow student ambassadors are for!

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Balancing School and Occupations ⟩
September 8, 2014, by Kristy

Life Hacks School/Life Balance

As I get back into the swing of things with my classes and being at school each day, it is easy to lose sight of the things that mean most to us — our occupations! While being a student certainly is a meaningful activity for me, it is not the only one! It already is proving to be a challenge for me to continue to engage in my favorite occupations such as hiking, baking, playing with my dogs, hanging out with friends, watching movies, and exercising. Our occupations can have an impact on our health and well-being in our daily lives as well as how we feel physically, emotionally, or socially. Therefore, it is very important to be able to self-reflect on what makes us happy or satisfied each day. I know that if I do not take time to spend with my dogs each day, I feel unsatisfied with my day, that is why each morning before I leave for school and each evening we go for long walks; this is not optional for me, it is something of importance that keeps me going, so I have learned to prioritize my time, and it kills two birds with one stone — spending time with my dogs and exercising! Time is a balancing act, we never feel as if we have enough time, although really it is all about how we perceive our time and how well we use our time. Time management as a student is extremely important. I have learned this over the years, and while I feel I manage my time well, I never understood the importance of continuing to engage in occupations until I started the OT program last summer. It pays to pay attention in school, don’t just sit by and learn about how we can help others engage in their occupations, help yourself! Do not let yourself forget what means most to you! Yes being a student is important, but taking care of yourself is necessary as well. I encourage you all to make it a point this week to engage in activities that are meaningful to you!

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White coats, scantrons, and football, oh my! ⟩
September 5, 2014, by Claire

Classes School/Life Balance

Happy Friday! Last week, our division held the white coat ceremony for our MAI, MAII (including BS-MA), and OTD students. It was very exciting to see everyone look so professional (and spiffy) in their white coats. I remember when taking the oath last year, I was very inspired by what occupational therapists value and strive to do in their practice. Congratulations to all of you!

This week is our second week of class! I am currently in the adult physical rehabilitation immersion, and the course has taken on a new format known as Team-Based Learning, where learning takes place in a team setting as opposed to traditional teaching styles like lecture. In general, the process is: 1. Pre-readings; 2. Individual Readiness Assurance Test (IRAT); 3. Group Readiness Assurance Test (GRAT); 4. Reviewing Test; 5. Case Applications. To be honest, some of us were a little skeptical about the model when it was first introduced to us. Personally, I was worried about completing the pre-reading and missing information that would have been presented in a lecture. However, our professors continually referenced the research behind this style of teaching and we had our first “RAT”s this week. I found myself much more engaged in the entire process — our adrenaline was definitely running and it encouraged active discussion. Plus, the GRAT is a scratch-off scantron and there’s something exciting about seeing a star on your scantron to notify your team that the answer chosen is correct. I’m interested in seeing how the rest of the semester will play out!

Last weekend we kicked off the football season with a win against Fresno State. Tomorrow USC takes on Stanford. I know several friends who are trekking up to NorCal this weekend for the game (we call it the “weekender”). Fight on!

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