New beginnings

May 16, 2013
by Alisa

Beginnings and Endings Fieldwork What are OS/OT?

I can’t believe that I’m writing my last blog. I am graduating tomorrow.

Is this real life? Yes, I tell myself that it is really happening. I’ll be graduating from USC once again, but now, for my Master’s. It seems like yesterday that I was in undergrad, not completely sure what I wanted to do with my life.

I have found a profession that I’m excited to be a part of and that I know I could empower others while empowering myself.

This year has gone by so fast, and as I’m reflecting on the year, I’m actually feeling a bit sad. I have met so many great and genuine people, and I truly believe that in the OT program, I get to interact with those people everyday. I love my professors, I love my classmates, I love my co-workers, I love my friends I love my dogs. What more could I ask for?

I will miss leading tours for prospective students. I will miss the foods and snacks that my classmates bring in to share. I will miss yoga on the lawn during lunch hours. I will miss group projects. I will miss listening and talking to classmates. I will miss the compassion of the people in the program.

But I know those memories don’t have to end as we walk off the graduation stage. We can continue to check in with each other. We have various ways to do that, thanks to social media (I’m still a fan of snail mails). We have created a network of the Trojan family for life, and for that, I am grateful.

With every ending has a new beginning.

Monday I’ll start my last level-II fieldwork at the Veteran’s Hospital for 12 weeks. I’ll be working with people with traumatic brain injury. I’ll be pursuing my clinical doctorate degree in the fall and starting my residency at USC University Center of Excellence in Developmental Disabilities at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles in pediatric mental health. I’m super excited about that as well. Although I don’t have a lot of experience with children, I’m ready to learn. So I’ll be keeping myself busy in the summer and starting to study for the NBCOT exam. Come fall I’ll be a licensed occupational therapist! Woohoo!

⋯