Endless Opportunities

January 11, 2011
by Austen

What are OS/OT?

The band was back together again in Portland, Oregon. Over winter break, I went back home to reunite with my parents and my sister who had just returned from a semester in Capetown. It was as if we were never separated, just picked up where we left off as we always do. It is funny how that happens. As usual, my sister and I immediately jumped into the kitchen and started baking. Over the holidays, we went on a baking rampage. Luckily we were not the only ones eating our delicious creations, we baked for rescue missions, parties, friends, neighbors, and of course, our household. But I can honestly say I baked something new at least three times a week, and I looked forward to it each and every time. Some of my favorites and most successful endeavors were homemade granola, healthy(er) oatmeal chocolate peanut butter chip cookies, chocolate pecan toffee bars, german chocolate cake, lemon cupcakes with blueberry jam filling and vanilla frosting, and pumpkin ginger cookies with maple icing. Hungry? The list of baked goods that came out of my oven goes on and on. I guess you could say I love baking.

People tell me I should go to culinary school, become a food critic, or open a bakery, or all three. This all started when I returned from my semester abroad in Madrid with a new deep love of good food. I enjoy everything about it: reading recipes, grocery shopping, Food Network shows, cooking, indulging, and sharing the experience with others. Cooking and baking are now a large part of my life, and something I hope to continue doing. Since I find cooking and baking so enjoyable and meaningful, I would love to somehow incorporate it with my occupational therapy degree. Cooking classes for physically or mentally disabled? Baking as a social activity for developmentally delayed? Cooking classes for the college student? I often wonder if this is possible, but the more and more I talk about it with others, I realize that occupational therapy can be applied to and paired with any area of interest. Occupational therapy’s diverse and broad skill base can even serve as a valuable marketing tool to create a job that may lie outside the traditional medical/clinician role, whether that be related to cooking, nutrition, sports, music, dance, art, and so on. I once thought of occupational therapy as a very specific field, but I find now that occupational therapy can intertwine with many different aspects of life in ways we may not have explored before. On that note, I get more and more excited about all the opportunities awaiting me. So if you have any recommendations or ideas on how I can combine my love of food, cooking, and baking with occupational therapy, I am all ears!

Well, classes have begun and the semester is quickly underway. Here is to the New Year and my last semester. I think it will be a good one, a challenging one, and an exciting one. I look forward to it!

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