Student Blog
School/Life Balance

FAQs ⟩
February 26, 2014, by Kate

Housing and Transportation Living in LA School/Life Balance

As more and more students are admitted for the upcoming school year (which begins in June), I am fortunate to be in contact with more and more of them. I feel so lucky to be in the position to connect with the newcomers in our program, the class of 2016, and share my experiences and knowledge with them. I’ve received many questions about housing. “Where should I live?” is a big question I get almost on a daily basis. I always reply with the same answer — it depends on what you’re looking for! That’s one of the best things about Los Angeles: there are many neighborhoods that offer a variety of different things. My classmates live all over the greater Los Angeles area, some as far as Orange County! Many people look for a shorter commute than that, and so Pasadena is a great option. Some people like to be closer to the beach areas, so they look into Brentwood or Santa Monica. It really all depends on what is important to you in a place to live; the best thing is that Los Angeles offers a lot.

Another question I have been receiving frequently is about student life. “What is student life really like?” people have asked. I mention my blogs and those of my fellow ambassadors and I hope prospective students have read our posts. We are 5 very different individuals whose interests and tastes differ. I hope that these blogs give readers a diverse perspective on what it is truly like to be a student in the program, and that the readers can identify with one or some of us. In my opinion, student life is great! I make sure that I have balance in my life, meaning equal time commitments to work/productivity, leisure, rest and self-care. I make time for friends and I make time for my studies. I make time for myself with an hour spent at the gym and an hour each night reading a book for fun. I stay updated on my favorite TV shows (Real Housewives on Bravo). I have two internships this spring and I work as an ambassador representing the Division. I love my life and I’m a really happy graduate student. Of course, there are stressors; but with preparation and dedication, I stick to my routine in how to combat them. There are things I wish I could make more time for (I’d love to cook more!!); but I know that will come. I take things week-by-week and try to not sweat the small stuff.

I hope I have given you a glance into my life as a student and my thoughts about where to live in Los Angeles. Life isn’t shabby as a USC student.

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USC OTs in Vegas! ⟩
February 14, 2014, by Clarissa

Community Living in LA School/Life Balance

As promised, I’m updating about USC OT’s annual Vegas trip!  As the second year social chair of the Occupational Therapy and Science Council (OTSC), I planned our trip with my first year co-chair Kristin. The planning process started 2 months before our trip and, let me tell you, coordinating for 30 people isn’t easy but it was all so worth it!

We got rooms all on the same floor, which was great for meeting up before heading out to the clubs. With the excellent girl to guy ratio in our classes, we had no trouble getting into the nightclubs XS and Light for free on both Friday and Saturday nights. During our down time, some of our classmates went hiking (much admiration to them), ate delicious food at the Wynn buffet, and just slept in preparation for the coming night’s festivities.

It was such a fun trip, filled with late night bonding time, pillow fights, 5-hour meals at buffets, a legendary story with a wheelchair and transfer involved, and dancing!

My favorite part of being social chair is having events like this to get to know my classmates outside of class and also to build a relationship with the first years! Making these memories with my peers makes me love my time in the program that much more. OTs are such a fun crowd!

Here’s a picture of a group of us the second night!

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Aloha (Unmet) Goals! ⟩
February 13, 2014, by Clarissa

School/Life Balance

We talk a lot in OT about the importance of maintaining a balance between work, rest, and play. All y’all know from my blogs that I’m very busy — I’m a student ambassador, the social chair of the Occupational Therapy and Science Council, and I’m on the Student Run Clinic board. I love all my activities and wouldn’t take back my involvement with them for anything. I do tend to neglect restorative occupations, though. Sensing this imbalance, I wrote a paper for my Health Promotion and Wellness class where I set goals to incorporate more restorative occupations in my life.

I think it’s safe to say that I did NOT meet my goals over winter break! It’s so true what my professors say — habit change is difficult and takes time. It sounds like common sense but I didn’t realize exactly how hard it is until I tried it myself =(. This gives me perspective on how my future clients will experience habit change.

I went to Hawaii over winter break, which was supposed to include a lot of laying around on the beach but, according to my friends, I am “incapable of chill time.” It is so true. I really did try to relax but there were just too many cool things to do! I went scuba diving for a whole day, I did a lot of snorkeling, went cage diving with sharks, and did 3 hikes — Diamond Head, Kokohead, and the Haiku Stairs. I actually had to wake up at 2:30AM to hike the Haiku Stairs! Yup, there definitely weren’t any restorative occupations going on there.

So I didn’t exactly relax in Hawaii but it was still awesome =). Here’s a picture taken when descending the Haiku Stairs. Speaking of non-restorative activities, I also went on an OT trip to Vegas (I have a problem — I really just can’t stop being active). Cliff hanger for a future blog post soon!

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Enjoying my peeps!!! ⟩
February 6, 2014, by Ryan

Beginnings and Endings Community School/Life Balance

I am starting to realize that these will be my last moments with my classmates that I love so dearly . . . so I have been taking advantage and spending some quality time with my peeps! I feel so lucky that I am going to be an OT soon, that I got into USC (which has inspired me to everyday), and to have been in the program with the most amazing people! I have made great friends and am so proud of the amazing OTs my classmates will become. I will miss them so terrible when we graduate.

Went golfing with some peeps, yesterday . . .

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The Olympics Are Here! ⟩
February 5, 2014, by Kate

Community School/Life Balance

As of tomorrow night, the 2014 Winter Olympics have begun and I am SO EXCITED!!! I love sports competitions, and I love everything the Olympics stands for. I feel as if people from so many different races, cultures and backgrounds come together with a common goal: to represent their country and do the best they can. The Opening Ceremonies are one of the most magical events to watch because you can see this pride on the faces of all the athletes who come to compete. The Winter Olympics mean so much to me too, since I grew up in Colorado! I always wanted to be an Olympic-level ski racer, and I watched U.S. skiing greats like Picabo Street and Johnny Mosely when they both won Olympic Gold. Furthermore, one of my favorite movies of all time is Cool Runnings, the classic tale of the Jamaican bobsled team that went to the Calgary Olympics. Well, good news for me — the Jamaican’s are once again sending a bobsled team to the Olympics!!

I’m planning to watch the Opening Ceremonies tomorrow night with some friends and show my pride for Team USA!

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