Discovering Occupational Therapy

August 24, 2016
by Erwin

What are OS/OT?

For my first blog post, I wanted to share with you how I discovered occupational therapy! Believe it or not, I made the decision to become an occupational therapist back when I was in high school. Throughout my high school career, I volunteered at a local community hospital to explore various health professions. I knew I wanted to enter a field where I could help others, but like many high schoolers, I wasn’t exactly sure of what I wanted to do. As I volunteered, I saw the value in all the health professions, yet it was occupational therapy that really piqued my interest. I saw the difficulty some other health professions had in engaging clients in healing, yet with the occupational therapists, it seemed so effortless. It was amazing to see how they were able to engage clients in therapy through the use of meaningful activity — something that seemed so obvious in healing, yet not always practiced within other health professions. After my introduction to occupation therapy through my volunteer experience, I began to learn more about the profession through my cousin, who is an occupational therapist, and volunteering at clinics. As I learned more about the profession, I began to admire how occupational therapy embodies a holistic approach. How occupational therapists see the whole person, and not just his or her illness, deeply resonated with me and inspired me to pursue this profession at an early age.

After receiving my bachelor’s degree from San Jose State University, it was time to apply for my master’s in occupational therapy. USC had always been a dream school of mine since my family are die-hard Trojans. USC has one of the top occupational therapy programs in the country, so when I was deciding where to complete my master’s degree, USC was a no-brainer. My first year has been nothing short of amazing and I can’t wait to share my journey of becoming an occupational therapist with you through my blog.

Fight on!

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