Student Blog

I Turned 27 Last Thursday ⟩
November 13, 2017, by Bryan

Life Hacks What are OS/OT?

Maybe it is a mixture of interacting with older patients at fieldwork, dinner with my grandma for my birthday, or slowly realizing that OT school will be over in another semester, but I have been reflecting a lot on where I am going.

I know, a scary topic for us all.

From early on, my career goals were clear: find a job that provides financial stability. It is interesting how much of this mentality has shaped me today, and while I am really grateful for it, the older I get, the more I realize the importance of doing what I love. I remember receiving a card when I graduated undergrad from my cousin who was busy working on Wall Street. He is also the son of immigrant parents so can attest to a similar lived experience. I opened the card and immediately looked for the cash gift I expected. Nothing. What the heck. Should I even read the card? I was torn!

Upon reading the contents, however, I was even more surprised to reread advice I never really seemed to take seriously: follow what you are passionate about because that is what you will work hardest to be the best at. From that point forward came the discovery of purposeful paths, whether that meant running into a dead end, detour signs, or trudging through the side-brush to find another road entirely.

What am I most passionate about?

While the A+ answer might be Occupational Therapy(!), I think my greatest passion is to get to know people and help wherever I can. My career trajectory till now captures my own efforts to crystallize this very meta passion into a 9-5. I ran the 100000000m sprinting marathon of pre-med coursework believing that doctoring was the one and truest synonym for “helping others”. I utilized the beauty of storytelling to assist people find and purchase services or products that they might really need through marketing. My heart was the same all along and OT seemed like a perfect fit for it going forward.

I guess the question for you is what are you most passionate about? Does OT help you fulfill those passions? And if it does not, that is totally okay, there is so much purpose in exploring.

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Keeping Up with the OTs: Moving with Motivation ⟩
November 10, 2017, by Kaitlyn

Videos What are OS/OT?

Graduate school can be stressful and at times, difficult. Juggling school, work and all the other demands of life is not always a piece of cake. In those times where I feel overwhelmed and like I have too much on my plate, I simply find ways to remind myself why I chose the path I am on now and why I do everything I do.

With that being said, I love to replenish my motivation through interactions with my patients, colleagues, classmates, family, friends, and people in everyday life. In addition to that, I’ll use the Internet as a resource to find inspiration (thank you Google and YouTube!). This past year, I attended the AOTA Annual Conference in Philadelphia and they played a video of Al Roker discussing the positive impact occupational therapy had on him and his son. I love to watch this video when I need that little push:

Here is one of my favorite quotes that encompasses my deep rooted feelings for occupational therapy as well:

“I’m an occupational therapist, an obscure profession if there ever was one. We are few and far between, maybe because we have chosen to serve people with disabilities. All disabilities. Not a glamorous endeavour, nor a lucrative one. And I say serve because we deem that in helping we see weakness, while in serving we see wholeness. We’ve opted for wholeness nearly a century ago and have been at odds with the system ever since. We don’t fix people, you see, with them we simply try to find a way to meaning, balance, and justice. I chose occupational therapy because it blends science and humanism, intellectual rigour, and compassion.”
— Rachel Thibeault

All in all, I believe that an ethical life is one that involves doing the most “good” that you can. For me personally, being an occupational therapist is a profession where I am able to do the most “good” that I can. With OT, I know that at the end of my life I can look back and say that I lived one that was fulfilling and meaningful.

I have met the most incredible people just in the short time I’ve been an OT student and I’m looking forward to a lifetime more of such inspiring encounters.

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Telling People About OT: One of my Favorite Occupations! ⟩
November 9, 2017, by Caroline

Admissions What are OS/OT?

I must apologize for my long delay in blogging, but I promise I have a good excuse! My favorite part of being a Student Ambassador is speaking with prospective students about Occupational Therapy and our programs at USC. These past few weeks, I’ve been all over the greater LA area presenting at various universities and speaking with prospective students about OT and our programs. When someone asks me about OT, my immediate response is “do you have 2 minutes or 2 hours?” OT is one of my favorite topics of conversation, so the fact that I get to spread the word about OT as my job is simply the best! Believe it or not, when I was applying to OT programs my senior year of college, I didn’t know a single other person interested in or applying to OT. I managed to navigate the process by myself, but I’ve had so much fun visiting Pre-OT clubs and other student organizations at various universities and connecting with students who are as passionate about OT as I am!

In addition to traveling around to different universities to give presentations, I’ve also started giving virtual presentations to groups and universities that are a little farther away geographically, but are interested in learning more about OT at USC. I was able to connect with and present to students from my undergrad in North Carolina (Wake Forest University — Go Deacs!) which was particularly exciting for me! Technology is the best! If you’re reading this and would like to set up a virtual presentation for a group of students at your college or university, feel free to reach out to me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) — I would love to make that happen!

We’ve also started doing Admissions Information Sessions virtually as well. We tend to hold about two Information Sessions per month on our campus here in LA, but we want students to be able to get the same information even if they can’t travel out here. I know I would have appreciated that when I was a prospective student! We already have a Virtual Admissions Information Session scheduled for March 29, 2018, so mark your calendars and check out our website for information on how to register.

As always, feel free to reach out to any of the Student Ambassadors by email or leave a comment if you have any specific questions about our experiences or want to follow-up about something we talked about in our blog!

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Falling In Love With A New Occupation ⟩
October 30, 2017, by Ali

Life Hacks Living in LA

With week ten of the semester comes midterms, unfinished projects, and the overall stress of finishing classes while choosing classes for next semester. I found myself getting caught up in the stress of it all, going straight from class to work to home only to continue studying or working until bed and then starting it all over the next day. Then one day last week, I came home to huge brown box on my front porch. My parents had mailed me a boogie board. They knew both how stressed I had been and my love for swimming in the ocean.

I had been talking for months about wanting to go to the beach on the weekend, but never found myself actually making the short twenty-minute drive. This surprise present was just the motivation I needed, as I have always wanted to take up boogie boarding but never actually knew how or owned the board. So last week, with October weather in Los Angeles being so warm, I took my new board to ocean! An eight five-degree weather day at the beach is hard to pass up.

The fresh air and salty water was the just the refresher I had been craving in the middle of the semester. It felt so good to do something like boogie boarding, which has no inherent value besides being enjoyable and fun. To engage in something purely for the sake of leisure without any productive value or in the hopes of reaching a goal, was something I had not done in a long time. There are so many occupations out there, and I am so glad I was reminded to try out a new one. I love being a beginner at something again and the joy of learning a new skill just for the sake of learning it. In the middle of occupational therapy school this semester, I was reminded of the power of occupation and the therapeutic value that meaningful activities have on our lives. I am feeling ready to take the rest of the exams and projects I have ahead (with my boogie board in my hand).

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OTAC in Sac: Attending the 2017 OTAC Annual Conference ⟩
October 25, 2017, by Kaitlyn

Getting Involved

This past weekend, I had the privilege of attending our annual Occupational Therapy Association of California (OTAC) Conference in our state’s capital, Sacramento. This year we are celebrating 100 years of OT, so naturally, this conference was going to be a big celebration. In even more exciting news, this year we had over 80 Trojans presenting and speaking and 8 receiving awards! It was very humbling to be among fellow USC students and alumni who had put in so much hard work to be where they are now.

At this particular conference, two of my favorite sessions were coincidentally presented by faculty from USC. One of the sessions I attended was titled, “Positive Psychology and Meditation: Clinical Applications and Beyond!,” which was facilitated by Dr. Don Gordon. In this session I learned about the supporting evidence of positive psychology, research related to the effectiveness of meditation (including neurobiology and how it builds psychological coping skills), how to engage in exercises like meditation as a form of coping (which can be applied to patient interventions if appropriate!), and so much more.

Another one of my favorite sessions was titled, “The Shared Governance Model of Participatory Decision-Making: An Opportunity for the Development of Occupational Therapy Leadership, Power, and Voice,” which was led by Dr. Katie Jordan, Dr. Samia Rafeedie, and Dr. Bryant Edwards. In this session, I learned about the importance of “shared governance,” which is an organizational structure that enlists participatory decision-making models of leadership. For example, we discussed the importance of involving front-line staff (e.g., nurses) in making decisions so that they too feel empowered, appreciated, and respected.

When I was not in sessions, I was working either at our USC Exhibit Hall Booth (as a part of my Student Ambassador role) or completing any OTAC Student Delegate tasks that were needed of me (as a part of my OTAC Student Delegate role). It was definitely a busy weekend, but it was EXTREMELY rewarding and wouldn’t have had it any other way.

On Saturday, the Keynote Speaker at the Awards Ceremony was none other than Frank Kronenberg, who is the director and co-founder of Shades of Black Works, a Cape Town-based social enterprise with a triple social mission: strengthening places of origin, forging connections, and supporting collective story-making. Kronenberg is also a prominent global activist and the co-founder of the movement “Occupational Therapists without Borders.” Frank Kronenberg’s speech, which was about humanizing praxes and its relation to OT, was nothing short of inspiring. I may or may not have shed a tear (or two . . . or three . . .) during it. At the end, he proposed that we modify Mary Reilly’s infamous statement, “Man through the use of his hands as they are energized by mind and will, can influence the state of his own health” to the following: “Humanity, through joining hands, as energized by ubuntu and political will, can influence the health of the human condition.” 

Overall, I can confidently say that attending conferences like OTAC is what revitalizes and recharges my soul in my own OT journey. Being surrounded by so many kind, accomplished, and hardworking occupational therapists inspires me to be better and do better not only in the realm of OT, but also in life in general.

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