Student Blog

Thank You, Next ⟩
May 10, 2019, by Jessica P.

Beginnings and Endings What are OS/OT?

I’ve never been good at goodbyes, so I’ve been feeling pretty nostalgic the past few days as my class has finished our comprehensive exam and graduation has come and gone. It feels like just yesterday that I stepped foot on campus as a fresh-faced freshman. At a large school like USC, it was easy to feel lost and like there wasn’t a place where I fit in, then I joined the Chan Division as part of the Bachelor to Master’s program. The Chan Division has meant so much more to me than just a major, it has meant having a place to call home. I never thought that a program could become family, but the OT family and CHP has become my home away from home.

When people ask me “Why USC?”, my answer is always the same: the people. The Chan Division has introduced me to the most amazing professors, classmates, and friends who will always be what I remember best about USC.

Thank you Cohort B| To the best cohort and my ride or dies. Here’s to our amazing Google docs, potlucks, and knowing how to always encourage and care for one another!

Thank you friends | To the classmates who became friends and then family. Thank you for helping me through my lowest lows and celebrating my highest highs. Whether we were camping, hiking, going to OT Vegas, exploring new cities, or studying together in CHP — you have been by my side every step of the way.

Thank you professors | To the professors that pushed me out of my comfort zone, supported me, mentored me, and taught me more than I could ever read in a text book. The life lessons I have learned from every professor have helped shape me into not just a better therapist, but a better person.

Thank you co-workers | To the best co-workers and bosses a girl could ask for. Thank you Kim Kho for constantly guiding me and encouraging me. Thank you to the entire Admissions Team for supporting me personally and professionally. Thank you to Etta, Evan, Gouen, Joyce, Melissa, Michael, and Serena for being an amazing student ambassador team. You have all made every day I go to work rewarding and not feel like I’ve actually worked an hour at all.

Thank you Mom & Dad | To my biggest supporters who encouraged me to pursue OT since I first mentioned it to them. Thank you for always explaining to people what your daughter is studying and making sure they know the difference between physical and occupational therapy. Thank you for supporting every one of my wild ideas and always making sure my fridge is stocked. Thank you for being there for every big moment and every small moment. I would not have made it this far without you.

Thank you Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy for all of the people, experiences, and opportunities you have exposed me to. But . . . you can’t get rid of me just yet.

Next: Keck | I’ll be staying another year at USC to pursue the advanced clinical track of the occupational therapy doctorate, completing my residency at Keck Hospital of USC. I can’t wait to see where my occupational therapy journey takes me, but I know that USC Chan will always be a part of my journey. So this isn’t a goodbye, just a see you later.

Fight on forever!

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Congratulations on graduation! And What’s next? ⟩
May 1, 2019, by Goeun

Beginnings and Endings Getting Involved International

Classes are done and I cannot believe that I’m almost done with the program! This is going to be my last blog and I’d love to tell you all the things that I’ve gone through this semester as well as my next steps!

This semester has been busier (I think) and more interesting semester. I had externship, electives, a career fair, and more!

On January, I came back from South Korea after winter break and started my new semester. The biggest difference between the Fall semester and the Spring semester is that students take mostly elective courses and a few required courses during Spring. I was excited to take classes what I’ve wanted to take and during the semester, I could have individual Lifestyle Redesign practice sessions with a partner as a therapist and as a client. Also, I could learn hands-on motor control techniques and treat a real client after practicing with classmates.

On February, for the first few weeks, I searched externship site and did externship from the last week of February for two weeks. Finding the site was not an easy process, but it was a great experience to actually think about my interests, possible resources, and build leadership skills. Also, I was working on an OPT visa process which I need after finishing the program. Thanks to Global Initiatives team, I could get general information about the process of applying for OPT visa.

On March, I had the externship until the first full week of March (March 8), and then, I had Spring break! After coming back from Spring break, we had a career fair from our Division. You can find more information about the career fair from one of our Student Ambassador, Jessica’s blog. Also, Global Initiatives held an Alumni Panel for international students which they invited recent international alumni from our Division to talk about what life is like after leaving the USC such as studying the NBCOT exam, job searching, job interviewing, figuring out fair salary, and adapting to a new work environment, etc. It was really helpful as I could get a lot of resources from both the career fair and the alumni panel. After attending them, I felt less pressured and worried as I could get some sense of planning after graduation.

On April, the semester has been going pretty well, and I tried to keep a balance between the schoolwork and my well-being.

On May, I’ll work on my final papers, exams, and the comprehensive exam. After that, I’ll graduate!!!

What’s next? For me, I will work for SOTI program from Global Initiatives from June to July, so I’ll be in school until July, after that, I will study for the NBCOT, and searching for a job. This will be my next steps and a new journey as a new graduate.

It has been really amazing studying in the USC Chan Division and I appreciate all who have been supporting me. Good luck with everyone and FIGHT ON!

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Spring Semester Shenanigans ⟩
April 26, 2019, by Jessica P.

Getting Involved School/Life Balance What are OS/OT?

Happy last day of classes Trojans! It’s hard to believe that today was already my last day of classes in the Master’s program here at USC. Every semester always seems to fly by but this semester especially has gone by so fast I’m not sure where the time has gone.

Fall semester may get a lot of hype because of football season but I’m a big fan of spring semester also. The past few months have been packed with all different events from traveling internationally for my externship to attending my first AOTA national conference. Here is a sneak peek into what I’ve been up to the past few weeks.

AOTA Conference
In April I was able to attend my first AOTA conference and visit New Orleans for the first time. It was a jam-packed few days attending different workshops and speaker sessions. In between sessions, my friends and I explored New Orleans and of course tried beignets!

At AOTA, I really saw the power of the Trojan Family. From hearing one of my former clinical instructors and USC alumni, Laura Ferrari, speak on her work in forensic mental health to exploring posters, like the one above by Dr. Janice Rocker.

LA Times Festival of Books
This year I had the opportunity to help plan the OT booth at the LA Times Festival of Books Health Pavilion. The Festival of Books is such a fun event to spread OT to the greater Los Angeles community and celebrate OT month! We had stations for stress management, weight management, research recruitment, and sensory integration play.

Tours
The past few weeks have been busy with tours! We’ve had visitors from all over, including freshman from a local high school who are interested in pursuing occupational therapy.

Desert X
While things can get busy in the spring, I always try to make time for occupations outside of school that are meaningful to me. One of my favorite things to do is to explore various art museums so this year my friend and I spent a weekend in Palm Springs. We drove around the various Desert X art installations and ate tons of delicious food!

I hope you all had an amazing semester, I know I did! Good luck on finals and don’t forget to take time for self-care and engaging in your favorite occupations!

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Presenting My First Poster at AOTA ⟩
April 22, 2019, by Joyce

Getting Involved What are OS/OT?

If you had asked me last year, I would have told you that presenting at AOTA was definitely not in my future plans. But here I was with my partner, Tabitha Lin, presenting on the role of occupational therapy in the student run clinic! & what a FUN experience this was!!

During the poster session, Tabitha and I were standing by our poster and engaging in conversations with attendees who were passing. It was interesting to see both students and program directors come up to us. We encountered directors who were trying to set up a similar student run clinic in their occupational therapy program and asked us questions about our model. I had so much fun discussing my experiences as a co-chair exec for SRC as well as the experiences our student volunteers had.

In addition, this was my first AOTA conference and my first time being in New Orleans, LA! Conference is definitely a hustling busy time with so many moving parts. In addition to the poster presentation, as a student ambassador, I also worked the USC booth during the expo hours. I enjoyed this part of conference as I was able to interact with alumni and perspective students who were thinking about pursuing their PhD or Doctorate at SC. I also got to explore other booths including Nike, Zappos, and Microsoft to explore their adaptive shoes, clothing, and gaming equipment.

NOLA was extremely fun with its culture in food and drinks. I think I consumed way too many oysters during my time there. My friends and I got drinks after conference sessions and explored the city together!

I think going to a national conference such as AOTA as a student is such a unique experience and I highly encourage all students to go! As a student, there is no pressure to go to all sessions (to accrue continuing education) but to truly explore different parts/practice areas and enjoy conference for what it is! It’s also a great networking opportunity, I found myself talking with occupational therapists from New York who were looking to hire, so opportunities all around!

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Festival of Books with USC’s President ⟩
April 22, 2019, by Serena

Getting Involved Living in LA

USC’s OT department went all out at this years annual Festival of Books event on USC’s main campus! We had many free educational, stress relieving, and fun-filled activities. We had stations where the public could create stress balls, scented lotion, and hot/cold packs. Occupational therapists from USC’s OT Faculty Practice were giving information on how to develop healthier eating and exercise habits. The USC Occupational Science research team was also giving out information on carpal tunnel. We even have an area where children were playing on the gym equipment or playing with the water beads, play dough, and moon sand! As you can probably imagine our booth was filled with people from all ages and interests. It was so great that even USC’s President, Dr. Wanda Austin, had to stop by and check out all of our stations.

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