Student Blog
Alisa

Comic Relief ⟩
April 11, 2013, by Alisa

Community Getting Involved Living in LA

Last night I went to a comedy show on the other side of town, UCLA. I really don’t have anything against UCLA, except that they rejected me for undergrad, which made me found something better — OT at USC. UCLA unfortunately doesn’t have an OT school. Anyway, my friend invited me to see the comedy show, Kristina Wong: Going Green the Wong Way. She has done numerous tours throughout the US and Europe. She chronicled her efforts for a greener, more sustainable lifestyle since middle school until now. She recalled her experiences campaigning with CALPIRG, driving a twenty-five year old Mercedes that completely ran on vegetable oil, and learning wisdom on public transportation. I don’t want to reveal too much, but it’s great to see how the efforts of one woman to save the world could be inspirational yet hilarious. After the show, we were invited to have dinner with Kristina and the crew. While deciding on where to eat, the car that Kristina’s props were in did not start up. We tried to jump it with 2 cars, but to no avail. We spent half an hour flagging down cars to help us on the UCLA campus, but none could. I understand it could be a liability issue, but still. While calling for help to come, a crew member and I went to do an In-N-Out run for everyone. Afterwards, we went to Kristina’s house to enjoy ourselves this meal. From this unexpected adventure, I gained six new friends. I was able to talk to them about occupational therapy, and we all departed with happy stomachs. It was a night to remember.

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OT Month Kick-Off Celebration ⟩
April 4, 2013, by Alisa

Getting Involved

On Monday we had a kick-off party on the quad for Occupational Therapy Month. There were many students from various disciplines. This was great visibility for occupational therapy. We provided lunch, buttons, bookmarks, skits, et cetera. Happy OT Month! Fight on!

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Faculty Dinner ⟩
April 4, 2013, by Alisa

Community School/Life Balance

Last week a group of students were able to enjoy dinner with faculty at California Pizza Kitchen in support of a fundraiser for OTSC (Occupational Therapy and Science Council). It was great to be able to see faculty outside of class and got to know them on a more personal level. I love being able to learn more about their histories, passions, and experiences both OT and non-OT related. Shout out to Dr. Clark, Dr. Cermak, and Dr. Solomon for making time for students despite their busy schedules.

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Externship in Thailand ⟩
April 3, 2013, by Alisa

Externships International School/Life Balance

I can’t believe I got a rare opportunity to spend 3 weeks in Thailand. Of course, I took it and ran with it. 2 weeks of externship and a week of spring break. The goal of the externship was to learn leadership skills, so I reached out to my aunt who is the owner of Sammie and Sandy Beauty Spa and the chairperson of a non-profit organization, Zonta International (Bangkok 7 region). Some of the highlights of my externship were that I got to table a booth for my aunt’s company at the Bangkok International Hair Show and a golf course. Those were two different populations, but I had to utilize my people skills to engage potential customers in our services and products. It was a tough crowd I have to say, but it was still a valuable experience. Zonta International had a Rose Day, where all of the regions met up to represent different ASEAN countries. I got to dress up in Thai traditional clothing and networked with the members through an evening of great food and music while learning about ASEAN countries and potential business opportunities there.

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Sleepy head ⟩
February 20, 2013, by Alisa

Life Hacks School/Life Balance

I haven’t been getting good sleep, and partly because I get woken up in the middle of the night. I’m holding the duty phone as a resident advisor, and I’m worried that the phone will ring in the middle of the night. It affects me in that I don’t want to wake up in the morning. The hardest part of waking up is getting up. Today, my alarm clock went off at 7:45, but I didn’t actually get up into 8:16. I set a new record, where I got ready in 6 minutes just in time to catch the tram. It helped that I had my clothes all laid out the night before. I usually catch up on sleep on the weekend, but sleep is something that I’ll be more conscious now. On average my body needs at least 7 hours to be able to fully function. In my undergraduate career I have pulled one all-nighter, and in grad school about once a semester. It’s just me having poor time management skills since I often get distracted by all the wonderful opportunities at USC. Sometimes there just not time in the day to accomplish everything that I wanted to. Yesterday, Kal Penn was speaking on-campus. Today, I’m attending an event at USC where Landon Donovan will be speaking! I’m looking forward to that.

I can’t believe I’m leaving for Thailand in a week! It seems that there is so much more to do between now and when I leave, but I tell myself I’ll get through it. I set smaller goals for myself and tackle them one at a time. Of course, I reward myself for accomplishing those tasks. For my externship in Thailand, I’ll be shadowing my aunt who owns a health spa and is involved in many charitable organizations. I’ll be learning about corporate social responsibility and leadership in the health and wellness industry. I’ll also get to spend more time with my beloved grandmother as well.

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