Student Blog

Seeing Rejection as Redirection ⟩
November 16, 2020, by Calvin

Admissions Life Hacks

When the November 1st application deadline passed, I started thinking back to when I first applied to USC Chan about 3 years ago. Wait a minute . . . am I doing that math right? I started the program in June 2019, so how does that make sense? Well, let me tell you!

I already knew that I wanted to pursue OT when I was a senior in undergrad. I really only wanted to go to USC and I also wanted something to start doing right after graduating. So, I had submitted my application to just USC Chan for their 2018 entry cycle.

During the waiting process, I would always keep up with online OT graduate school forums where prospective students would share their stats, where they went for undergrad, who they heard back from, and when they heard back. It was like being addicted to “College Confidential” when I was applying for undergrad (if anyone remembers what that is)! I was also searching for a forum thread from previous years to see when the admissions committee had sent out results so I could kind of gauge when they would send it out during the year that I applied. From what I had read, it seemed that March was the month that results typically got emailed out, so I was mentally preparing myself for that. However, I also knew that things change each year and that I shouldn’t be frantically checking my email.

One night in February though, I was out with friends and we were just hanging out. The thought of admissions decisions wasn’t even on my mind at the time, but my phone was set to show email notifications on my lock screen. I saw an email with the subject line “USC Occupational Therapy”. I was completely freaking out and my friends watched me as I read the first sentence in the email.

My heart sank and I felt numb. I ended up telling my friends that I was going to head home early and I just laid in my bed, staring at the ceiling. It didn’t fully hit me that night because I was so unprepared for the news. The next morning, I had work and when I parked my car, I just sat inside crying my eyes out, feeling like I had failed and that I wasn’t deserving to be an occupational therapist. I kept thinking to myself, “What’s wrong with me?” and, “If I can’t get in this time, what makes me think I can get in next time?”

However, I knew that if I let these thoughts take over, I wasn’t going to get anywhere. I later responded to the email asking if I could meet with the admissions committee to see what parts of my application could be improved. They were happy to accommodate my request and I took a visit to the division a few weeks after. They were so open to giving me constructive feedback on my application and they also took the time to reassure me while encouraging me to reapply the next year.

So, during the following cycle, I applied to USC again, as well as to a handful of other programs. Although attending USC was my dream, my end goal was to become an occupational therapist, and by applying to other schools I could increase my chances of joining the profession. So, I went through another round of waiting games of hearing back from the programs. I ended up being accepted into the other programs, but I was waitlisted to USC this time. My first thought was “okay . . . this isn’t a rejection and this is still an improvement from last year.” I was truly grateful to the other programs for offering me a seat, but I knew that my heart was set on USC, so I decided to make the wait.

The thing about being on the waitlist is that it’s not a yes or a no and it’s so unpredictable that the admissions committee can’t guarantee what will happen. It was a pretty rough time for me during the wait and I was just praying for that congratulatory email to come my way, but I didn’t hear anything for quite some time. Fast forward to the morning of the first day of class for the entering class — I was still on the waitlist. At this point, I knew that I wasn’t getting in and I was actually preparing to pack my bags to head to a different program. Then, I got a phone call that afternoon.

I had no idea who was calling, but when I picked up I heard the news that ultimately changed my life. It was a call from admissions team representatives, Dr. Kristin Nxumalo and Dr. Arameh Anvarizadeh, telling me that a space had just opened up and asking if I wanted it. Honestly, that moment was such a blur. I just remember that I was losing my mind from all the excitement and I kept saying “YES” and “THANK YOU”! It was a pretty last-minute decision considering that I had to be ready to come to school the next day, but it all ended up working out.

Now, I’m here! I’m here living out my dream of becoming an occupational therapist in my dream school. I never expected it to happen like the way it did, but I’m beyond grateful for the journey and I’ve learned so much along the way.

I won’t lie though, I felt pretty undeserving and there were a lot of feelings of impostor syndrome since I had come off the waitlist so late. However, I remember during that first day, I walked down the aisle of the G-37 auditorium towards Dr. Samia Rafeedie, so that I could introduce myself and inform her about my situation. I was feeling nervous, but I’ll never forget how kind and understanding she was. When she told me, “you belong here”, that was when I started to actually feel like I did. I’m thankful everyday for the supportive community of faculty, staff, and students, for giving me so much strength and for reminding me that I do deserve to be here.

Rejection hurts, and I know that I’ll continue to experience rejection down the road. But that’s just how life works. There are times when things go my way, and there are times when things just don’t turn out the way I had hoped. However, I always try my best to remind myself that things happen for a reason. As admissions decisions approach, it’s going to be a stressful time waiting to hear back. Do what you need to do during this time and treat yourself with compassion.

Congratulations to all of you who’ve submitted your applications this cycle! You did it! When I was a prospective student, I found comfort in reading Student Ambassador blogs. Here are some that I think might be helpful for all of you during this time.

• So, You Have Submitted Your Application: Lamoni shares tips and advice on what you can do after you’ve submitted your application.
• I’m waitlisted . . . now what?: Liz shares her experience with being on the waitlist.
• Being Waitlisted: Marilyn answers questions alongside fellow students,Daniel and Nicole, about being waitlisted.

The Student Ambassadors and the Admissions Team are available to answer your questions as well.

I know that the wait for admissions decisions to roll out is nervewracking, but whatever decision you receive - don’t let that stop you from being the best OT you can be! I’ll leave you all with this quote that inspired me to share this story: “Every time I thought I was being rejected from something good, I was actually being redirected to something better.” — Steve Maraboli

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You didn’t come this far to only come this far ⟩
November 13, 2020, by Yna

Life Hacks

It’s Friday! Should I dare say “TGIF” when I’ll be facing final exams next week? Probably not! It’s incredibly hard to believe that we’re only a week away before the fall semester comes to a close. It’s been roughly a 3-month long semester of online classes, asynchronous lectures, countless readings, presentations, and assignments. I was so caught up in juggling all these requirements for weeks on end (plus a part-time job as a student ambassador on top of it all), that they all just seemed endless—and yet here I am, already working on completing all the final requirements for the courses I enrolled myself in. As I try to let this reality sink in, various mixed feelings inevitably surface.

Do I feel ready for the finals? Did I really learn everything that I needed to in class? To be honest, I have spent the last few weeks feeling anxious about this upcoming exam week. I had always been this very organized person who likes to stay on top of things; however, the rigorous workload oftentimes just left me feeling overwhelmed. Adding to this are feelings of loss of control brought about by the myriad of things happening in the outside world that I cannot simply detach myself from, despite just being cooped up in my room practically all day.

Somehow, I managed to pull through one day, week, and month after the other; that I had barely noticed the time swiftly passing by. As I was starting to prepare myself to study for the exams, sifting through all the course materials, I couldn’t help but question myself if I had really absorbed a whole semester’s worth of learning (I guess we’ll find out in a week or so, right? Stay tuned for my next entry!).

A little reassurance for myself (and anyone of you who needs it) would have to do for now: you didn’t come this far to only come this far! I personally find it helpful when I remind myself of the time I was in this same fearful state as I was just about to enter the program a couple months ago: being a new immigrant to this country, struggling to find a support system, adjusting to the remote learning setup—all while having to deal with problems concerning personal relationships. It wasn’t exactly the ideal way to start the semester; nevertheless, here I am, halfway done through the program!

This is not to say that I made it here all on my own, though. My ever-supportive family, my very encouraging professors who are always willing to support their students in any way, my MA1 classmates whom I constantly meet with virtually whether it’s to create reviewers together or simply hang out, and the amazing friends I met at USC Chan along the way—all have brought me here. I encourage everyone to draw strength from your support systems, most especially when the going gets tough.

Good luck to all those students taking their final exams next week! As always, Fight On!

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Meaningful Occupations in the Reinberg-Rivera-Ritter Household ⟩
November 12, 2020, by Liz

Life Hacks Living in LA

As OT students it’s so easy to get caught up with work, class assignments, and other responsibilities. It’s so easy that we forget how important it is to take care of ourselves and take some time to engage in meaningful occupations! This year I have had the pleasure of living with two of my best friends, Lorelei and Renee. Over the course of being in this program, we’ve really gotten to know each other. I don’t know what I would do without them! I thought it would be cool to share some pictures of some of the meaningful occupations we’ve been engaging in to relieve some stress and spend some time together as a family.

Renee just recently got a sewing machine, and so of course Lorelei put her to work! Here she is attempting to professionally hem Lorelei’s skirt. So yes, we now have our very own seamstress in the house! The only downside is that her work may take more than 10 business days to complete.

As a kid, I used to love playing outside with my friends. Whenever I think about my childhood I think about running around the apartment complex and racing around in scooters with my friends. My elementary school used to have a thing called AR (not sure if that is still a thing), in which we would have to accumulate a certain number of points by reading books. I really did not like reading books as a kid because I loved being outside playing with my neighbors. As I got older reading became more enjoyable of course. So, now I have decided to read the entire Harry Potter series, which I never read as a kid!

Here’s Renee taking a little study break. We started working on a 1,000 piece puzzle as a household, but I have to admit most of the work was done by Lorelei and Renee. There are way too many shades of blue, green, and white in there. I did cheer them on from the couch, though!

One of the most beautiful parts of living in East Los Angeles — delicious food everywhere! I woke up early before class to buy us some tamales so we could enjoy a little breakfast. Yum!

And lastly, here we are enjoying a little paint night! Lorelei was painting something for her mom, I was painting a gift for my little sister’s birthday, and Renee was painting something for her room. We were playing holiday music because both Renee and Lorelei will be going back to the east coast for the holidays. And Maxy is supervising of course.

These pictures bring me so much joy! I am so lucky to have the best roomies in the world. As an OT student in our program you can expect to receive a great education and learn from some of the best OTs out there. But, you can also expect to develop beautiful friendships with some amazing people!

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Being “First-Gen” ⟩
November 9, 2020, by Lamoni

Admissions Diversity First-Gen

This week is USC’s “First Generation Student Week.” USC defines a first-generation student as someone whose parents do not have four-year college degrees. At USC, roughly 20% of the students are considered “first-gen” and that includes me! Because this week is about highlighting first-generation students, I want to talk about what this experience (being the first person in my household to go to college) has been like for me. If I were to sum it up in a few words, I would say “challenging but rewarding.” I know how cliché and overused that phrase is, but it is true.

My mother was still in high school when she had me and though her and my dad regularly tell me how much joy I brought to their lives, they acknowledge the multiple challenges that come with being a young parent — one being completing higher education. Since I could remember, education, getting good grades, and going to college has been ingrained in my upbringing. After school, when my friends would play outside, I had to read “hooked on phonics” books first. Honestly, growing up in New Orleans with debilitating humidity, I was happy to stay indoors to read. My parents pushed education because they wanted me to have experiences that they did not. They instilled a hunger for learning because they figured it would keep me on the “right track.”

All my life, I strived for As. It started with getting incentives by the end of the week (a stop at Toys R’ US or extra money in my allowance) but then it was more long term — I wanted to get into a “good college” and make my family proud.

Before college, everything felt like a straight path. School had always been “easy.” I never had to think about financing my education or having a place to live alongside completing readings, meeting deadlines, studying for tests. What was expected of me had completely shifted. On top of that, I went to school out of state and had absolutely no family around me. I remember a couple of times when I would cry on the phone to my mom because I felt overwhelmed. The most difficult part was reaching out to my parents and them not being able to help me. As a child and sometimes as a teenager, your parents are your superheroes. In the past, I could reach out to them for anything and together, we could come up with a solution. But now, I had to figure out everything on my own. From difficulties in class, to being a student worker all the way to handling east coast winters. They had no answers. For the first time in life, I could only rely on myself. As someone that takes a while to open up to people and someone that does not like asking for help, there were moments when I truly struggled.

During those moments of confusion and exhaustion, what kept me determined was my family — specifically, my siblings. I did not know what I was doing but I was going to figure it out — for them. Because, then, they would know that it was possible. Though I always had what I needed (food, water, shelter), I was raised in a low socioeconomic class. I, and the rest of my neighborhood, grew up on food stamps. Though my parents sheltered me as much as they could, I saw a lot of violence growing up, I saw substance abuse, and I saw family members taken away to jail. I saw what happens when people are not exposed to better opportunities or lack proper support to obtain those opportunities. I did not want my loved ones to be in that position. My parents could talk about how college was the right route to go, but they could not show me. I could show my brothers and sister and I could make my parents proud along the way. This was an opportunity to pave the way.

Because I am the first to get my bachelor’s degree, I will also be the first to get my master’s and later, the first to get my doctorate. While I am immensely proud of myself, I am not the only person that I do it for. As mentioned, I do it for my family. But, I also do it for other first-generation students. It is very difficult to go through such an extreme transition without guidance from your guardians. People discuss college as something that everyone must do — like it is some sort of “no-brainer” but they do not talk about how hard it is, and the resources to get through it is not readily available.

I love that there is a First-Generation Student Week because it acknowledges the challenges that first-gen students experience, congratulates us on our triumphs and provides resources so that we can continue moving forward. To all of the first-generation students, I am so proud of you. You have accomplished so much and you will continue to accomplish so much more.

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Will I Have Time to Work During the Master’s Program? ⟩
November 4, 2020, by Savi

Classes Getting Involved

As the Nov. 1 application deadline has just passed, I have been receiving many questions from prospective students about balancing a job and graduate school. Although this experience will vary from person to person, I thought it could be helpful to give you all a bit of insight into my experience balancing work and graduate school!

The Entry-Level Professional Master’s program begins with a jampacked 8-week summer semester in which you complete foundation-based courses like Kinesiology and Neuroscience in an extremely short amount of time. This makes for a high intensity and fast-paced semester with class from Monday-Friday 8:00am-4:00pm and a few hours studying upon your return home each afternoon. I, therefore, chose not to work during the first summer. I had also just completed my undergraduate degree a week before beginning the Master’s program and hadn’t even found a place in LA to live yet! I was grateful to have a few hours on the weekend or on Friday evenings to apartment search, find a job for the fall semester in my new neighborhood, and get to know the fun city I was living in.

During my Fall semester in the Mental Health Immersion, I felt like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I was in class three days a week, completing my Fieldwork I one day a week, and had my Friday’s completely free! This allowed me more time to take on a part-time job as a gym receptionist and sales associate at a gym near my apartment. They allowed me to work extremely flexible hours, as they understood I was not available during most of the week. I worked the evening shift after school one night a week, the Friday afternoon shift, and a weekend shift, which all combined to approximately 20 hours a week of work on top of graduate school. Was this easy? No . . . it was really overwhelming at times and I did not have much time to participate in social or revitalizing occupations (such as sleeping a sufficient amount of hours every night!). I am very thankful that I was able to fit in some studying or homework during my work hours if we were having a slow day, that I loved spending time with my co-workers, and that I was allowed to take a free workout class during each shift. If this wasn’t the case, I do not think I would be able to commit 20+ hours a week to a job while completing my Master’s degree (also I wouldn’t recommend it regardless because it was TOUGH). I continued this workload during the following Spring Semester in the Pediatrics Immersion. It was nice to make some money and work on applicable skillsets for the OT field, such as adjusting your communication style depending on the customer, giving clear and concise directions, or staying organized and calm during chaotic or unforeseen situations.

At the end of my Spring semester, I was exhausted and I needed a change. I knew the Adult Rehabilitation Immersion was coming next and as a student interested in working in an inpatient hospital setting with adults in the future, I wanted to have more time to focus on all the valuable coursework. The Student Ambassador position became available and as a previous college tour guide, I was thrilled by the opportunity to step into a similar role for a program I love dearly. After applying and interviewing, I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the Student Ambassadors and was extremely thankful for the expectation that we were to work 10 hrs/week. On top of that, working for the Chan Division allows you a lot more flexibility with your hours, as the faculty you are working for understand the workload you are trying to balance. Thank you to Kimberly Kho, our AMAZING supervisor/boss, for being so flexible, understanding, and respectful of our busy and ever-changing graduate school schedules. Kim has always reinforced that academics takes priority and has allowed us to adjust our schedules to provide more time on particular weeks to study for exams, write big papers, etc. Visit Yna’s blog to learn more about what we do as student ambassadors!

From my experiences, you may have noticed a trend. Can you work in grad school . . . yes! It is doable depending on what job it is and how much flexibility it allows you. I am grateful to have had understanding bosses and incredible, fun, and kind co-workers in both of my jobs! Be sure to weigh the pros and cons of the job before you commit to it and make sure that you are prioritizing your physical and mental health! As Kim says . . . you are a student first.

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