The Summer Olympics at USC Chan

August 2, 2024
by Global Initiatives Team

Community International

By Alyssa Dharmawan (E-OTD ’26)

In the world of sports, the Summer Olympics represents a culmination of athletic skill, global unity, and cultural celebrations. Athletes from around the world compete in a diverse range of sports and foster a sense of global community, with the pursuit of excellence and sportsmanship. On July 8th, 2024, Global Initiatives and the Occupational Therapy and Science Council (OTSC) hosted a Summer Olympics event, where students from USC Chan and international OT students from the Summer Occupational Therapy Immersion (SOTI) Program came together and played summer-themed games. Teams were randomized to mix SOTI and Chan students, in order to foster camaraderie among the two groups.

From July 1–31, the 2024 Summer Occupational Therapy Immersion program welcomed 66 OT students and practitioners from 22 different countries across 5 continents. During this 4 week summer program, participants learn about occupational therapy and occupational science in the United States through lectures, site visits, and small group discussions while building global connections and meaningful relationships.

Serving as the Co-Chair for OTSC and working in the Global Initiatives office inspired me to form a committee to create a fun summer event for the USC Chan students and SOTI participants. OTSC’s E-OTD Representative, Catherine Picard, shares how the inspiration of the Summer Olympics contributed to its success: “The inspiration for creating the Summer Olympics stemmed from a desire to foster connections and camaraderie among Chan students from different cohorts, and partnering with Global Initiatives made it a natural choice to include SOTI students, providing a unique opportunity for everyone to socialize and have fun together. Creating a sense of community is integral to USC Chan’s mission, and the Summer Olympics offered a platform for friendly competition, shared experiences, and lasting connections.”

At the beginning of the event, all participants were divided into 5 teams, with each group coming up with a team name, such as Champions, Moho Madness, Pikachu, 4 the Win!, and Gimme 5!. Soon afterwards, teams rotated to play a variety of games such as water balloon tosses, ring toss, dodgeball, corn hole, and volleyball rallies.

The games ensured that all members of different skill levels and abilities could participate and have an opportunity to engage with their team members. Wing Gi (Venus) Leung, a SOTI participant from Hong Kong, shares her experience: “The Summer Olympics [was] fun [to] play sports without competing too much. Being a person who [isn’t] really into sports, my teammates actively involved me.”

Out of all the games played at the Summer Olympics, volleyball was the most popular. Crispin Huang, a SOTI participant from Hong Kong shares: “[V]olleyball was my favorite game. It was fun to keep the volleyball in the air without letting it touch the ground, despite the sun constantly shining into our eyes. It was both thrilling and hilarious — each time the ball wobbled in the air, my heart raced as I kept shouting to my teammates, ‘Just hit it high so the others have time to react!’ I couldn’t help but laugh at the near-misses and the countless fumbles. It was, of course, a very inclusive game, as it required participation from all team members, no matter our experience in volleyball. In the end, we managed to keep the ball in the air for over 23 hits, which, in my opinion, is quite a milestone as it was the first time for the majority of us to touch a volleyball.”

After teams completed each game, everyone was treated with OTterPops and had an opportunity to socialize and engage in more games, until the final game of the Summer Olympics: Tug of War. During the last game of tug of war, teams went head-to-head tournament style to see who would be the last team standing. The winners of the final game of Tug of War were awarded team prizes!

It all came down to two teams: Champions and Gimme 5! The big question was which team would be crowned the winner of the Tug of War and take home the grand prizes? After an exhilarating match, Gimme 5! emerged as the winners, demonstrating amazing teamwork and strategy to come on top.

After a fun-filled afternoon of games and socializing under the bright sun, the participants reflected on their experience participating in the Summer Olympics and fostering connections:

“I love [that] this event lets us interact with USC students by playing games. I particularly love tug of war because it gives off a team building atmosphere. When we work together it is easier to get closer with each other. I was impressed by the variety of games such as volleyball and water balloon tosses. [Overall] I love the event a lot.”
— Caroline Chan, Macau

“[The Summer Olympics] was a really fun way to get to know USC OT students! They were all so energetic and lovely. Plus it was nice to see how good friends you all were with each other as well.”
— Nourah Alflayyeh, Saudi Arabia

“[The Summer Olympics] was a lot of fun, I got to meet a lot of new people not only from the SOTI program, but also people from different cohorts from USC Chan. It was a great time playing games and trying to come up with strategies to win. My team got to know each other fast and recognized each other’s strengths and used that to our advantage. Just the overall team work and coming together was awesome! I loved how we were just cheering and rooting for each other the entire event. We all got so close and even exchanged contact info at the end to keep in touch.”
— Miranda Marquez, E-OTD ’26

Serving as the Co-Chair for OTSC and working in Global Initiatives places me in a unique position to foster relationships within the USC Chan community and build global connections with the SOTI participants. I am so honored to have an opportunity to build a sense of community locally and internationally through a shared love of the game with this event. The Summer Olympics would have not been possible without the hardwork and dedication from the incredible team of students from Global Initiatives and OTSC’s executive board members as well as the support of Dr. Danny Park. A special thank you goes to Bea Gee, Anna Glenn, Annika Pham, Catherine Picard, Keni Tsuno, Xiaorong Wang and Jackie Villa.

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