Graduation and Gratitude

May 18, 2014
by Clarissa

Community

Graduation happened! The ceremony was beautiful and the featured speaker this year was Elizabeth Yerxa — a legend in OT. I read her work and watched videos of her speeches! Of course, her speech was wonderfully inspirational.

The best thing about graduation, though, is sharing it with those who helped me reach my dreams. Pictured here is a book of messages and pictures my sister collected from my family and friends. I’m humbled by all the selfless love and support that surrounds me.

Here’s my family — without them, I’d be nowhere near where I am now. From doing my laundry to advising me on big life decisions to dealing with my short fuse during stressful times, they’ve been there. I owe them absolutely everything.

My friends light up my life. My home, college friends, and post-college friends were there through my quarter life crisis before I found OT. Our friendships never faltered, no matter how little I saw them through busy grad school. There are also my closest grad school friends who got me through all-weekend study marathons, who shared in life-changing travel experiences with me (see post about Ghana), and who support all my grad school endeavors, whether it is attending the socials I plan or debriefing challenging clinical experiences with me. I know we’ll be lifelong friends.

My absolute favorite thing about the program is the people. I feel so fortunate to have been a part of the Class of 2014 — every person in my class is selfless, warm, motivated, and supportive. My wonderful classmates made every single day in class something to look forward to. Because I have these amazing people to look up to, I am closer to the person I want to become. Whether it is developing rapport with patients or leading advocacy efforts for OT, I’ve learned from them all. They will make such a positive impact on so many people and I am proud to call them my colleagues and friends.

We did it!

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