Student Blog
Dana
My Mental Health and How It Led Me to OT ⟩
October 22, 2024, by Dana
Beginnings and Endings First-Gen
As an immigrant, the idea of the “American Dream” was the main path that every immigrant aimed to achieve. All my life, I was told to keep learning and going to school to achieve higher education so that I can make more money and live that “American Dream”. So, being in an Asian immigrant household, I was expected to become a doctor, lawyer, engineer, or entrepreneur of some sorts in high positions. My first time ever where I thought of a career path for myself was in middle school. Low and behold, I thought of becoming a lawyer. I had this immense confidence that I could argue anything and everything with those around me whenever I disagreed with them. However, that did not last very long when high school came along and my confidence and mental health plummeted.
High school was an interesting time, but it was also a traumatizing time for me that is buried all the way in the back of my mind. I was not given sufficient guidance nor opportunities to explore what I potentially wanted to do in the future. It was a time where academic excellence was ingrained in my mind by my parents and teachers. Excelling in classes and engaging in educational organizations were the priorities of what other people wanted for me. It took me some time to process, after the fact, that that was one of the causes of my mental downfall. In addition, a huge life event of my mom passing away during my sophomore year created even more mental turmoil. As much as I expressed what was happening to me in my high school, they wanted me to focus on strengthening my college applications with grades, standardized tests, and personal development. Ironic because the only personal development my high school allowed was to develop our academic skills. With no guidance there, I fought to find my own path.
Getting past the grief of my mom being gone was what felt like the longest mental journey of my life. However, her passing sparked my love for healthcare. There were some things I wished the healthcare system could have done for her to increase her quality of life by maintaining her independence and promoting occupations in which she could still engage in. Watching her lose all her ability to do things for herself was difficult as a teenager because I had seen her do almost everything for our family. Because my high school wasn’t helping me explore career paths, I took it upon myself to research healthcare professions that aligned with my values and goals of helping people with terminal conditions have some independence and internal satisfaction with what they can do while they are still alive. With extensive research, I came across Occupational Therapy.
I didn’t follow the traditional path that was expected of me, but I found something better: a career that aligns with my values, one where I can help others maintain their dignity and independence, just as I once wished for my mom. Occupational Therapy became more than just a profession — it became a way for me to honor her, and in some ways, to heal myself.
⋯
Get Your Money’s Worth! ⟩
July 22, 2024, by Dana
After spending a GOOD amount for tuition, you should make your money worth it! Here’s my guide on what and how to claim free/discounted benefits at USC:
Lyft Rides Program: As USC students, we are provided with free Lyft rides after 5PM at the HSC campus (after 6PM for UPC) until 2AM seven days a week within specific boundaries of the area. This is so useful when you have late night food runs with friends or going home from studying at the library. After filling out a request form, the transportation team will email you an activation code, in which you will need to be signed in with your USC email on the Lyft app. After that, all your rides after 5PM will be free of charge! Here’s the website for more info: https://transnet.usc.edu/index.php/how-to-use-lyft/
LA Metro U-Pass: If you’re new to LA or don’t have access to a car, USC offers free public transportation around LA with the U-Pass! The U-Pass allows USC students unlimited rides on LA Metro’s rail and bus lines for any given semester using a tap card. The card can also be used around other LA cities such as Culver City, Norwalk, Torrance, Gardena, Long Beach, and Foothill. Because of this card, I went from my place in Monterey Park to the KIA Forum for a K-Pop concert without the stress of driving and parking fees. It is also great for exploring the city, such as taking the rails to Hollywood or Santa Monica Pier. You can purchase the card (free of charge) through the Transportation Purchase Portal, complete a Metro survey, and then the USC transportation survey. Once you’ve completed all the steps, you will be able to pick up your tap card at the transportation office and tap at any metro station for your next ride! Here’s the website for more in-depth info and steps: https://transnet.usc.edu/index.php/student-u-pass/
Discounts to Theme Parks and Zoos: USC offers various discounts to the following theme parks and zoos across SoCal: Six Flags Magic Mountain, Knott’s Berry Farm, Universal Studios Hollywood, Legoland, Aquarium of the Pacific, Los Angeles Zoo, San Diego Zoo. Some tickets can only be purchased online or in person at the USC Ticket Office on the University Park Campus at Galen Center or the One Stop at HSC on the Health Sciences Campus. I was able to use my USC email to get discounts for Universal Studios and the Aquarium of the Pacific, and it was much more enjoyable knowing that I didn’t pay full prices on those tickets. Here’s the website to check prices and activate your discounts: https://ticketoffice.usc.edu/for-the-usc-community/attractions-and-entertainment/theme-parks-and-zoos/
USC Visions and Voices: One of my biggest flexes while attending USC was that I got to watch Saweetie, Quavo, and the Migos perform LIVE over at the UPC campus. With USC Visions and Voices, they have events such as free concerts and performances throughout the school year for students to attend and enjoy. At the beginning of the school year, they host a huge event with performances to welcome students back from the summer and kick off the school year with fun activities! To keep up with their events, follow them on Instagram @uscvandv or watch out for updates in your email!
On-Campus Gyms: As part of USC Student Life, we have free membership to the gyms on the UPC (Lyon Recreation Center and USC Village Fitness Center) and HSC (HSC Fitness Center) campuses. As long as you are enrolled in at least 1 unit during the school year, you have access to any of the centers. When you enter any one of the centers for the first time, you can let them know you want to activate your membership and they will guide you through filling out a short form to access the gym. You only need to do that once and then can enter any of the centers through the swipe of your USC ID card.
Microsoft Office 365: If you’re more of a Microsoft person rather than Google Docs, you have access to all Microsoft apps when you sign into your USC account! I personally use Microsoft to organize all my files for classes and complete assignments through there. Go to the Microsoft website and sign in using your USC email, and then it will automatically redirect to the USC NetID login screen. Log in using your USC NetID username and password. And that’s it! You have exclusive access to Microsoft!
Subscriptions to LA and NY Times: USC offers a whole year of subscription to the LA and NY Times for USC graduate students! To claim the NY Times subscription you need to fill out a form (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdrnNNe9ysQmLo0KW856zvcT-vNsAk2aR-aHP0oqrRS00xqXA/viewform) with your USC email and ID to get a code. For LA Times, you just need to sign up with your USC email after clicking the link in your MyUSC login (https://my.usc.edu/los-angeles-times/) .
Random Events on Campus! READ YOUR EMAILS! I can’t preface that enough because the amount of times my friends and I were able to get free food and goodies from the events around HSC/UPC were crazy! Some random events I went to were free food trucks on Election Day hosted by Graduate Student Government, destressing with therapy dogs on campus with complimentary donuts and coffee, free agua frescas and flower planting with Norris Medical Library, and so much more!! So please read all your emails as the student support team sends weekly emails about events around HSC, as well as in our division!
⋯
My Vietnamese Immigrant Dad Doesn’t Know What I’m in School For ⟩
May 29, 2024, by Dana
Diversity First-Gen International
Growing up in a Vietnamese immigrant family, there were always high expectations of my siblings and me to get a career that is well-known. After high school, I knew I wanted to pursue occupational therapy, but because it was not a common major nor was it something my dad knew about, I decided to major in Psychology because it was a study that I was actually able to translate to my dad. Because it is a well-known field of study, it was expected that I would continue with Psychology in higher education, and with that, my dad had ingrained that I was going to get a doctorate in Psychology. He was telling my extended family and everyone he knew that that was what I was pursuing. However, when I found out that he was telling people that, I tried to explain and translate that I am going to school for occupational therapy, but there was no direct translation for occupation besides the connotation of it being a job. While there is translation for therapy in Vietnamese, it is not equivalent to what OT actually is.
What’s baffling to me is that there is a direct translation for physical therapy in Vietnamese which creates a perceived upper hand to occupational therapy (we can’t get a break from being referred to as PT even in different languages). So, when I was explaining OT to my dad again, I had to use PT in Vietnamese as a base term to describe OT, how there’s an overlap but it’s still different from one another. It does not give OT the recognition they deserve in my mother tongue, but that was the best I could do. But because my dad still didn’t fully understand it, he continued telling people that I am getting a PsyD…
Not until I took OT 519: Theoretical Foundations of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy during my first semester of the Entry-Level OTD program did I venture on the idea of occupational therapy around the globe. Through extensive discussions and reflections on the definitions of occupational therapy around the world, there was that connection that I was not the only one who couldn’t translate the profession into their mother tongue. In class, we discussed the possibility of a universal definition for the term “occupation”, however, it is almost impossible to be translated with one meaning, and it cannot be applied the same way in other cultures. It can be challenging to find words that precisely convey the true meaning of certain English words. In other countries, the word occupation holds different meanings and significance, so it would be difficult to label occupation as having just one definition. However, without the understanding of this term there is a struggle to create relevance for the OT profession in other cultures.
Looking into my motherland of Vietnam, therapeutic professions are still very limited over there due to lack of understanding of healthcare services besides the main medical care. In addition, I grew up in a rural area of Vietnam where access to any healthcare was very miniscule, with the closest hospital being over an hour away, so the idea of having any other forms of healthcare was not relevant in my family. I do hope that in the future, I can spread some awareness of occupational therapy by having an accurate translation of the profession and show its importance to my family and the community.
⋯
Subscribe | RSS