Student Blog
GI’s IG takeover! ⟩
April 14, 2020, by Japeth
First and foremost, I want to say that this blog post is dedicated to Global Initiatives, headed by Dr. Danny Park together with his team members James, Mariah, LiShan, Maggie, Katie, and Prutha. They have been doing a wonderful job in making the international students at USC Chan feel at home by organizing different activities (not to mention the free food that they always prepare!!!).
Some of the activities that we all enjoyed were:
- Global Corner (Meet and greet with local and international Chan students)
- Beach bonfire (I remember this happened around November and it was one of the best activities for me!)
- Thanksgiving dinner (It was their way of letting us feel the American culture during this occasion. I actually made a blog post about this!)
- Chinese New Year dinner (We had dinner in Chinatown together with faculty and staff; they also prepared games and activities)
- International Alumni Panel: Life after Graduation (This was supposed to be an in-person event, but due to the work-from-home set up, we had this online. It was an informative session where current international students like me, learn from alumni from different batches about tips on finding jobs, OPT processing, visa sponsorship, and many more!)
Sharing with you some snaps of the Life after Graduation event:
Actually, below is the highlight of this blog post — their latest Instagram Takeover where each of the team member has a day to show what their life is like! Being far from them and not having the usual bonding time that we used to enjoy makes me (and I’m sure the other students as well) really sad; but this takeover project made a way for us to know each other more despite the distance!! The photos below were just screen-captured from their official Instagram account. You may follow them on instagram (@uscchanosotglobal).
This is Maggie, one of my good friends here in LA! We became close because we see each other often at the office and extended our hangouts by drinking boba and eating Asian food! I couldn’t agree more with you on your explanation about OT, Maggie!
Although Areli and I only started seeing each other at the office during spring semester, we already had fun conversations about life, school, and everything in between. She’s also a coffee lover! Nothing that a coffee can’t fix, right Areli?
This is my small group leader LiShan! She was one of the first people who welcomed me at USC Chan and she also prepared a birthday cake for me last year during my birthday — that’s how thoughtful she is! Thanks for sharing some ergo tips too! We all can’t thank you enough for your thoughtfulness, LiShan.
No one can ever balance life better than this lady! Katie has organized many activities outside of school just to make sure that we are all enjoying our time here in LA. From oganizing fun activities to study session, Katie does it best! Thank you for allowing us to “Grow Together”!
Greetings from Minnesota to the world! Mariah is one of the Doctoral residents under Global Initiatives (together with James, another good friend!). She always fascinates me with her insight about life, politics, economy, and many more! And oh, you just made me crave tacos, Mariah!!
And that’s just the first wave of their Instagram activities. Rumor has it that they will do another takeover where they will share their travel pictures — exciting!! I hope they have pictures where they do a Fight On pose!! LOL
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A Day in the Life of Zoom University ⟩
April 13, 2020, by Marilyn
Throughout my undergraduate and graduate career, I avoided taking online classes for the simple fact that I enjoy interacting with peers and professors in a classroom setting. Due to the unprecedented circumstances with the COVID-19 pandemic, I have been receiving questions from prospective and newly admitted students about how I have been navigating the change to online class instruction. I share in this video strategies that I have incorporated into my home environment to support my online learning. I also discuss how I engage in mental health check-ins to assess how I am doing with the various transitions I am navigating as a student — both professionally and personally. We can get through this together and do not forget to FIGHT ON!
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A Social Distance Challenge ⟩
April 10, 2020, by Kat
#pushupchallenge #seeajerseypostajersey #untiltomorrow
You already know I had to get in on the #dontrushchallenge with the song by Young T & Bugsey. The song has so much rhythm and swag! If you know me, you know I can’t help but dance when I hear hip hop vibes mixed with Caribbean flow. My fellow current Black OT master and doctorate students alongside alumni licensed OTs worked together on this video. The goal was to showcase the growing ethnic diversity not only within the USC program but also OT in general. We also demonstrated the versatility that an OT degree can have. The fields of acute care, outpatient rehab, health and wellness, research, home health pediatrics, and early intervention were represented in the video. What better time to showcase how amazing occupational therapy is than during OT month?!
Diversity is powerful. Females are powerful. Check out our rendition of the #dontrushchallenge! (We do not own the rights to this music)
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3D-Printed Masks for Healthcare Professionals ⟩
April 9, 2020, by Kevin
As news of personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages continue to spread in coronavirus hotspot areas, grassroots movements of makers have sprung up all over the country. Teams of people are collaborating virtually to help mitigate the shortage in PPE for healthcare professionals/frontline workers. Additionally, as recent recommendations have been put in place for citizens to wear some type of face covering when out in the community, people are getting creative with new ways to create face coverings. For instance, within the Chan Division community the USC Occupational Therapy and Science Council (OTSC) arranged a crafting night for Chan students and faculty to virtually socialize and create face covering from everyday materials that people can find in their homes! Additionally, efforts have been made by the larger USC community to combat the supply shortage.
Within the USC community and Los Angeles Area, a group of currently over 130 members have assembled virtually to create PPE. Last week, I joined this effort after speaking to USC Chan faculty member Sook-Lei Liew PhD, OTR/L, who is currently 3D-printing masks and face shields. The community is made up of sewers, makers, prop artists, and many other creative and talented people who have the common goal to support the people who are risking their own health to save the lives of others. If you would like to know more about this effort to create PPE, you can read more about one of the communities’ founders and organizers, Darryl Hwang, PhD in HSC News. As a member of this community, I am using my home 3D-printers to print masks and eventually face shields. These masks and face shields will be used in the event that PPE shortages occur in the local healthcare facilities. While my involvement is small, with the help of many people, we can help make a difference in our community.
3D-printing the open-source mask design
1st batch of masks finished!
Trying on my test print of the mask
Within all the hardship this pandemic brings, communities of people working together remind me that love, kindness, and cooperation make everything a little better. I’m proud to be involved in such a community at USC. Fight On!
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Wake Up Call ⟩
April 9, 2020, by Catherine
Last week, I wasn’t feeling so great. It may have been the constant news being consumed or the overall sense of anxiety that has accompanied the new norm. While the rationale part of me knew that it was very unlikely that I had been infected with COVID-19, the wave of “what ifs” and leaps of the imagination to the worst case scenarios could not be stopped. Long story short, after some rest, extra fluids and time away from the news, felt better. It was my body telling me that I needed to slow down. The unforeseeable changes and disruptions in my daily occupations had challenged my wellbeing and had created unfamiliar reactions.
As an OT, my tool box is filled with strategies and interventions to help others, my focus had been on making sure my family and friends were adjusting the best way possible. I was not being mindful of my own needs, and as a result had burned out. Caregiver and provider burnout has been a topic of discussion throughout the master’s and clinical doctorate programs. Managing a household, residency and school assignments, from the same physical space has forced me to wear multiple hats at once. In the beginning, like many others, I jumped into action, trying to provide a safe environment for my family to cope. In the process, forgetting about myself.
Ironically, I had researched and developed a program during my Level 2 fieldwork, to provide providers in a hospital setting, strategies to respond to the state of vital exhaustion that was caused by emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and the overall decreased sense of personal accomplishment. Now more than ever, the current pandemic has created a constant state of fight or flight adrenaline rushes in our communities, to our healthcare frontline workers and other positions of essential service providers, and to our individual selves.
Best practice recommendations include initiating a wellness audit of the workplace, where the leadership would support the team of care providers in identifying sources, providing education and resources, and encouraging team members to express needs and set SMART goals to promote work life balance. Evidence also supports that in times of burnout, being mindful of our core values helps us stay grounded and motivated towards our personal and professional goals in difficult times. I have seen that many of my colleagues who enter healthcare professions share a common passion of helping others, empowering them to thrive in their everyday lives. But in times like these, I want to remind us all that we not only should be compassionate to the needs of others, but our own as well.
On that note, I would like to share some occupations that are important to me and have helped me re-calibrate and stay grounded.
Also, if you are willing and able, I invite you to help out our frontline healthcare and essential workers in your area. If you are in the LA area, and would like to help out our frontline workers at Keck, please visit this website. Together we will fight on!
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