Student Blog
Career Fair! ⟩
October 25, 2012, by Ricky
Getting Involved What are OS/OT?
Career fair tomorrow folks! So, as a 2nd-year student, this is kinda’ a big deal. 1st-year students are recommended to attend, but it isn’t mandatory. I’ve talked to a few 1st-year students and some are pretty gung-ho about it (which I think I awesome!). Others are on the fence. In my opinion, they should most definitely attend — it’s great practice for next year’s and you never know how long a good first impression might last. While chatting with some 2nd-year students, I was surprised to hear that some were not planning to attend. I was like “what!” I couldn’t believe it. Some of these guys/gals are stellar students too, so I thought, “they probably already got something lined up.” But, no, not the case. One girl said she didn’t feel like making the commute on her day off. To her, and others like her: c’mon guys, what the heck are ya’ll working so hard for!? To get straight A’s!? YOU NEED TO GO TO THIS THING! Grades do not get you jobs. They help, but that’s not all that’s gonna count when it comes getting the job of your dreams. Employers are going to want someone who is solid academically/technically, but who will also contribute to the culture of the organization and fit in well with other employees. Chances are that if you are in OT school at USC, you are pretty well-rounded — what better way to showcase your great qualities than to show up in person and make that good first impression? NETWORKING people — it’s sooo important. There are few opportunities better than this career fair to get your foot in the door. Applying on-line or sending your resume just doesn’t cut it these days. A strong resume is also super important, but look at it this way: resumes don’t get you jobs, they get you interviews; show up to the career fair and it’s almost like a mini-interview. Bring a solid resume and good attitude, and you’re golden. You don’t really have all the pressure of an interview, too — I’ve been to quite a few career fairs in my day (I’m old-er), and I have never been quizzed on-the-spot or anything. If you need to settle the nerves or something, swing by the Division’s table and see how awkward I am . . . I’ll tell you a cheesy joke or something. My routine at career fairs is to actually hit the employers I have the least bit of interest in. This is a great way to prime myself and settle nerves before hitting the employers I really care about. Also, I was once told to feel sorry for the people doing the recruiting or interviewing. If you think about it, there’s a lot of pressure on them to pick the right people. Do you know how expensive it is to hire someone and then not have it work out? See ya’ll at the career fair mañana.
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No phone for 24 hours? No problem ⟩
October 25, 2012, by Alisa
Life Hacks School/Life Balance
So, I went to my parents’ house for the weekend, and when I was on the freeway coming back to school, I realized I had forgotten my phone at home! I had to make a decision between driving back, which would take about 15 minutes or just go to class. I chose the latter. I knew I could live without a phone. I felt that I got a lot more free time because when I had my smart phone with me, I tend to check it quite often. It’s become a habit, but I do try to refrain from it. Those emails and notifications can wait. Go live your life now. Connect with the people around you. We are humans. We crave social interactions, or at least I do.
The positive side to leaving my phone at home was the fact that I would get to visit home again soon. I didn’t know that it was going to be the very next day! I went back the next day after fieldwork, and it was my dad’s birthday, too! So, we found an excuse to all go out and have dinner together. With the exception of my sister, no one else in my family had been to The Boiling Crab before. We had sweet potato fries, sausage, corn, shrimp, crawfish, and king crab. If you haven’t been to a restaurant like The Boiling Crab, it will get messy! You will be given a bib. It is a totally hands-on experience. You have to do everything yourself from taking off the peel to squeezing the lemon. I was stuffed, but, it was so good. A little on the salty side, but hey, you can for less salt on your orders. I got creative when I ate shrimp with a ball of rice. It reminded me of spam musubi. We’re not done yet. Afterwards, we went to BJ’s just to have pizooki (cookie with ice cream). It reminded me of my childhood since my dad used to get it for us when he got off work as a sheriff. The combination of cookie and ice cream is my guilty pleasure, indeed. The phone that I forgot at home was what brought me back home, and we all happen to be able to celebrate on his special day. Good times.
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Creative ways to achieve balance ⟩
October 24, 2012, by Kendra
It’s the middle of the semester which means mid-terms, papers, and presentations hitting us like a tidal wave. Students start showing up in pajamas with dark shadows under their eyes. Backpacks appear fuller and heavier and there’s always someone staring intently at a laptop in a corner or empty classroom.
It is during times like these that I absolutely love my zany cohort. Last week a classmate decided to introduce arbitrary color coordination day. One day each week we all dress up in a color or pattern for absolutely no reason other than we can. Last week was blue.
It really makes no sense why we do this and why we all seem to enjoy attempting to get 45 people to match outfits, but it’s a great way to have fun and de-stress for a few minutes or hours. When we learned about balance in our Health Promotion and Wellness class, we talked about eating healthy meals, getting enough rest, and finding leisure time within a working day. Shockingly the textbooks don’t mention that matching outfits helps you find balance. 😊 And yet, it does. It is something to laugh about, something we all share (in addition to the shared stress about tests and papers) and for a brief moment the stress disappears and we are just friends being silly about arbitrarily coordinating.
Somehow this weird little tradition has become my favorite part of the week and a wonderful reminder of why I love OT school!
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Fight On! ⟩
October 23, 2012, by Amber
One of the most enjoyable things about being a Trojan is attending the USC football games. It is at these events that our incredible pride and school spirit is on the greatest display. Never before in my life have I witnessed so many people that were so excited about the same thing. It really is incredible to walk onto campus on the day of a game. Fans dressed in red and gold cover the entire campus, the marching band and cheer squad parade throughout, and everyone engages in the great tradition of tailgating. The Occupational Therapy students teamed up with the Pharmacy students for the festivities, and new friends were made. I was excited to have my father with me, who had never attended a college football game. On the way into the game, we caught a glimpse of the retired space shuttle Endeavor on display at the California Science Center. I spent the game teaching my dad the fight songs and game day traditions. He had a wonderful time and said it was more fun than any NFL football game. I felt proud to be a Trojan!
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Splinting 101 ⟩
October 23, 2012, by Paula
This week, the focus for our Adult Rehabilitation lecture and laboratory experiences is on the human hand. Honestly, the hand has always been an intimidating part of the body to me. It is vital to so many occupations and one small change to function can cause such a global influence in the daily routines of the individual. I realize that it sounds obvious but if you stop and think about what you do not use your hands for throughout each day, I am sure that you cannot think of many. After some wonderful presentations from our peers covering various medical conditions which have a large impact on hand function (some of which included Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, Dupuytren’s Disease, Skier’s Thumb, and Peripheral Nerve Injury), we were able to dabble in fabrication of orthoses (more commonly referred to as thermoplastic splints). This was a great experience as a student, not having to worry about making a splint perfectly for a patient who may be in pain or may have a limited range of motion or motor control. It was also not without frustration. This process takes the right TLC in order to form the plastic material properly to the skin’s surface without being too snug, without having pressure points or indentations, and without causing discomfort. We had the opportunity to make three different splints: a volar wrist cock-up splint which may be useful to an individual with Carpel Tunnel Syndrome, a thumb Spica splint which may be useful for an individual who has sustained a scaphoid fracture, and a resting hand splint which can be useful to an individual who experiences symptoms of arthritis. Although we are nowhere near the ability or practice level of one who would be suitable to use these skills in practice, it was a great experience to be able to try out this process.
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