Student Blog
Michelle
Things to do in LA . . . ⟩
March 10, 2010, by Michelle
So I went to Disneyland about 4 times in the past 2 weeks and that go me thinking about what LA has to offer. There is so much stuff in the area that you’ll never be bored. Here are some fun things that I have found to do in the Southern California area within the past 2 years.
Disneyland. This is my friend Nicole and I at Disneyland around Christmas time, it was such a beautiful sight.
Malibu Beach. Nicole, Audrey and Me are all in the program and frequently we go to the beach and relax. Sometimes we bring homework, and sometimes we ban it from being allowed. But we always have a fun time.
The Pumpkin Patch. I went with my cousins who live in Orange County, it’s a really fun time. They have kiddie rides and kettle corn and usually some sort of live entertainment.
Oktoberfest. In Huntington Beach this is an opportunity to be fully emerged in Germany culture and tradition in the month of October. They have a band that they fly in from Germany for the whole month and authentic cuisine and beverages.
Camping. We went camping in Santa Barbara but there are several locations around LA that aren’t as far. It’s a cheap and fun way to have some friendly bonding and time with the outdoors.
Hiking. There are tons of hikes around the LA area. Griffith Park is a location that is near the Hollywood Hills that many people choose to hike. There is even a hike that will lead you to the Hollywood Sign.
Restaurants. LA has some great restaurants to choose from, like this one that is an old fire house in downtown that got converted.
Skiing. Big Bear Lake is only about 2–3 hours away and it is a great place to go skiing. It also has many activities to do when it’s not the winter time.
Hollywood Blvd. There is always a fun pretender to see and take a picture with on this historic walkway. Here is me and Johnny Depp.
I hope this helps convince you all of everything that LA has to offer, comment on this post if you know of other great activities that I didn’t list.
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5 weeks closer to graduation . . . ⟩
February 8, 2010, by Michelle
It’s week 5 of the last semester of my master’s. I gotta say it feels good 😊. Even though I still have a couple large hurdles to get through before I actually get to accomplish my dream of having a job and being a “real OT.” At this point I have already started looking online for jobs, and wouldn’t you know that a couple days ago I found an awesome job listing in DC for my dream job.
But now back to life — this past Saturday we had the OT extravaganza. The extravaganza is a chance to celebrate Occupational Therapy! It’s the third time that we’ve had one and except for the rain I think that it was a huge success! Mari, one of the other student ambassadors was responsible for putting the event on and she had asked me and some friends to present a project that we had made last year. Our project was very popular and I enjoyed talking about it so much.
Here’s a picture of my group at the extravaganza.
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First Post ⟩
January 6, 2010, by Michelle
So as a first post all of the ambassadors decided that we would post how our love of OT began, or at least how we decided it’s what we wanted to do with our lives.
When I began my undergraduate career I thought that I would eventually be going to medical school. My plan was finish undergrad, apply to medical schools and become a pediatrician. I have loved kids ever since I can remember and I have always planned on working with them. But then junior year came and I definitely did not have the grades that a person would need to get into medical school and so I started to search out other options.
I quickly decided to pick Physical Therapy because I knew that I could still specialize in working with children and it was still in the medical field. By this time, I only had one more summer before graduation. So in April I started calling clinics in my hometown trying to find anyone that would let me volunteer and observe in their pediatric PT office. I called 7 clinics that day and only one called me back. The clinic that called my back was called “OT 4 Kids,” obviously an Occupational Therapy Clinic, although at the time I had no idea. When I had called them, I remember thinking that because it came up in my Google search it must be the same thing as PT.
Well the OT in charge of the clinic asked me to come in for an interview. I came in and immediately loved the clinic. It just looked so fun. She explained to me that she would pay me to clean, copy papers and observe. I loved working there that summer and I quickly fell in love with the practice of OT. It was something about how they worked with the kids, always letting them find their way and not forcing them into anything. The OTs working at the clinic all would constantly explain to me what they were doing and why they were doing it.
After that summer I knew that OT was my calling and it wasn’t a coincidence that their clinic was the only one to call me back.
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