Student Blog
Beginnings and Endings

Changed My Mind to Change Some Lives ⟩
August 24, 2016, by Kimmy

Beginnings and Endings What are OS/OT?

Before entering USC as a freshman, I wanted a plan. I was crossing the country from a one-square-mile suburban town in New York, where I knew more than I wanted to about everyone who lived there. Naturally, coming to a university full of 34,000 new students was both thrilling and terrifying. Sure, I looked forward to meeting new friends and making new connections, but I was also afraid of becoming lost in a sea of undeclared majors.

Ever since I was in kindergarten myself, I believed I wanted to be an elementary school teacher. The job seemed perfect: I love kids, I love school, I love helping others. On one fateful day, I ran into my kindergarten teacher fifteen years after she taught me how to finger paint. I excitedly told her about my future career plans, waiting to see her eyes light up and tell me how proud she was.

“Don’t do it,” was her curt response instead.

“What do you mean? You were my favorite teacher, the one who inspired me to teach,” I countered.

At the time, I was a bit upset by my role model crushing my well-developed plans, and ultimately I would not let one naysayer get in the way of my own agenda, but her response made me think. It made me think that I was choosing a career based more on mere exposure rather than full consideration of all my options. Sure, I love kids, school, and helping others, but teachers are not the only people that love those things; teaching was just the only profession I knew about that fit the description.

In the midst of college applications, I searched for a bit of my own Lifestyle Redesign® (a branch of OT started right here at USC). I knew what I wanted in a career; I just didn’t know the name for it yet. But after considering other professions present in the school system, I remembered back to a room next to the gym in my old elementary school labeled ‘OT/PT.’ I knew what PT was, but OT warranted some extra research.

I don’t change my mind easily. I deliberate. So I read a description of OT online and immediately liked the sound of it, especially because it fit my requirements of loving kids, school, and helping others. But I wasn’t sold yet. I read many more articles and subsequently contacted numerous OT practices to volunteer for a more hands-on perspective. Ultimately, I presented my research to my parents, volunteered in a pediatric OT clinic during my senior year of high school, and met with the OT for my school district, all of which solidified my choice to become an occupational therapist.

I wanted to help others learn. At first, my mind understandably went straight to teacher. I still believe teaching is an incredibly powerful and respectable profession, but it was not the one for me. As an introvert, I am comforted by OT’s individual or small group treatment versus instructing a large class. As a science nerd, I relished the opportunity to take courses in anatomy, physiology, neuroscience, and kinesiology. As a health nut, I embraced the holistic wellness outlook of OT, which considers a person from all physical, psychological, and social aspects.

Jessica Kensky, the 2016 keynote speaker at the American Occupational Therapy Association conference, described occupational therapy as the place “where science, creativity, and compassion collide.” If there were ever a collision I would want to be in, it would be between those three aspects. OT has everything I want, and reciprocally, I offer knowledge, creativity, and compassion — a perfect fit. Throughout my career search, I discovered that a multitude of jobs exist, many more than people may know about. Though I had to explore a bit for my ultimate choice, I found it. Possibly more importantly, I realized the value of keeping my mind open to change. Intentions can alter, ideas can spark, people can change — and it is okay if not everything goes according to plan.

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One last post ⟩
May 18, 2016, by Jodie

Beginnings and Endings Community

Hello everyone! I am very sad that this will be my last blog post as a student ambassador. This has been such an amazing year and I would highly recommend applying to be a student ambassador during your second year in the program!

Graduation was last Friday and this past Monday I started my first day of my second Level II fieldwork rotation. I am so excited that I will be staying here at USC to pursue my OTD degree in the advanced clinical track and will be completing my residency at Keck Hospital of USC. (Just across the street from CHP so if you ever see me, please say hello!!)

I look forward to seeing new faces around campus in just a few weeks when the new incoming class joins us! Welcome to our Trojan family Class of 2018, you are in for the most amazing two years of your life!! Fight on 😊

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Graduation, Goodbye, and Good Luck: Onwards and Upwards! ⟩
May 17, 2016, by Ariel

Beginnings and Endings

The time has finally arrived! Essays have been essay-ed, tests have been taken, comps have been comp-ed, presentations have been presented, and friends have been . . . well, friend-ed and subsequently woven into my heart. In other words — we’re finished! Two weeks ago, we took the comprehensive exam — a test that pulls together information from seven of the classes we’ve taken over the past two years and reminds us all how much we’ve forgotten in such a short period of time. Suffice it to say, everyone I know got out alive.

It has been such a privilege to study occupational therapy at this renowned institution. The myriad experiences I’ve had throughout grad school — from attending our national conference to hands-on classroom fun to customizing my courses to celebrating the gift that is life here in Los Angeles — have truly been a rollercoaster of excitement, challenge, friendship, and lessons in learning more about myself and occupational therapy than I ever thought I could.

As I sit here on the precipice of graduate school and “real life,” I can’t help but feel a bit verklempt about leaving this place and the people who make it as special as it is. We’ve come so far; I can hardly believe it has been two years.

Next steps on my agenda? I’m moving from my beloved Echo Park apartment back to the San Francisco Bay Area, where I will complete my second level two internship in SF at California Pacific Medical Center (Sutter Health), a multidisciplinary outpatient pediatric clinic. I’ll be continuing to pursue my passion for impacting people’s lives through connection, compassion, and creativity. Whether it be through infusing technological innovation into my interventions, building adaptive equipment, or advocating for OT in the public sphere, I hope to advance our profession in my own unique way.

My fellow ambassadors have given you readers a number of great words of wisdom and pieces of advice for conquering graduate school, so I won’t repeat. Instead, I will leave you — my readers — with three suggestions my favorite history teacher left me with before I graduated high school. They still resonate with me today:

1. If you want to make an impact on someone, write them a handwritten letter and mail it via snail-mail. Think about it; when was the last time you received a letter in the mail (handwritten, no less) that you actually wanted to read? It’s a surefire way to make a lasting impression.
2. Take care of your back. Seriously. You only have one spine and you need it to be functional for hopefully ten decades or so. Once it’s hurt you’ll have a heck of a time trying to fix it, and it will encroach on almost every aspect of your life (and your ability to complete your daily occupations)! So strengthen your core, practice good posture, learn proper lifting techniques, and brush up on your workplace ergonomics. It will help you survive grad school and it will help you enjoy life.
3. It’s never too late to send a thank-you note. No explanation necessary for this one! 😊

So that’s it. Three morsels of advice from me to you. And with that — I’m out! Happy graduation to all who just completed the program, and WELCOME TO THE TROJAN FAMILY to all those who are just entering. FIGHT ON!!!

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Next Steps . . . ⟩
May 9, 2016, by Joe

Beginnings and Endings Getting Involved Life Hacks School/Life Balance

So, here we are, final blog post. I graduate in FOUR DAYS! (WOO!)

I’ve had the most incredible and transformative journey. I pivoted from one career path to come into the OT profession, initially aimed at going into physical rehab, then every semester showed me a new side of OT which flipped my world upside down. Now at the end of my final semester, I find myself interested in bridging between physical rehab and mental health practice, with a touch of primary care. And with one more fieldwork to go, I wonder how my interests will change by the time I take the board exam.

USC Chan has given me more than just clinical skills, but personal and professional life skills as well. If it wasn’t for the tremendous mentorship I received from our stellar faculty, I would not have become so involved with AOTA, which has opened incredible leadership opportunities and experiences, like attending conference to speak in front of hundreds of people, and even representing the OT profession at physical therapy’s national student conclave. Looking back, I can’t believe how much has happened in 2 years. it’s all just flown by!

So, what’s next?

I’ll be at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in their outpatient mental health programs. This includes working with teenagers with behavioral health problems, adults with special needs, and refugees for community integration. I’m SO excited to get started, and looking forward to being back on the east coast. I’m still waiting to hear from residency placements, but I expect to be back in the fall for the OTD program . . . with how much has happened in these last 2 years, who knows what that year of mentorship will bring as I’ll be a fully licensed occupational therapist!

For those of you just beginning your OT journey, some tips:

1. Get to know your faculty! I remember right at the beginning of the program, Dr. Samia Rafeedie, Director of the Professional Program, said simply: “you’re a student for now, but I see you all as future colleagues,” which really set the tone for the relationships we should develop with our faculty. I’ve made it a point to meet with each of my professors one-on-one at least once per semester. They have invaluable insight and expertise, and their input has been so crucial to my personal growth and success in the program. Make the effort, it’s well worth it! (And don’t worry, they’re all friendly and warm, they’re OTs!)

2. Learn through experience! Our classes are great at setting your foundation for clinical reasoning and developing hard clinical skills through fieldwork, but there is so much more to learn about yourself both personally and professionally through extracurricular experiences. Go to all the seminars, guest lectures, presentations, and the myriad opportunities available to you throughout your time in the program. I’ve continued to learn new skills through some unexpected ways, such as meditation training through my volunteer work with the health promotion office, and presentation skills through my work as an ambassador.

3. Get involved with our professional associations! I cannot stress this enough! Being a part of the OT profession means being a member of your professional associations at the state and national level. Not only do they act as your professional insurance to protect the work we do as OTs, but there are really great opportunities for learning and networking. Which leads me to:

3.5. Go to conferences! They’re super fun, but also give you a chance to feel part of the greater OT community. Go to the mixers and networking events, attend sessions of interest — I’ve made so many good friends from attending conferences. That’s where I meet the OTs who have similar interests as me, and who have offered invaluable advice going through the process. While there are lots of conference and symposium opportunities, attending at least once AOTA national conference is a must!

And finally, 4. RELAX. It’s easy to get caught up in the stress and workload of school, but remember to take time to take care of yourself. We talk about balance a lot as OTs, make sure to apply that to yourself. Keep up with leisure and recreational activities, make time for friends and family, and give yourself permission to enjoy a delicious meal and a good night’s rest.

Ok, one more — 4.5. Celebrate your successes! You’re going to work hard, savor the fruits of that labor!

Oh, and always . . . FIGHT ON!

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One last occupation: photography ⟩
May 2, 2016, by Heather

Beginnings and Endings School/Life Balance

As a way to ring in the end of my graduate school experience, I wanted to talk a little bit about one of my favorite occupations: taking photos.

I found my passion for photography over twenty years ago, when my father gave me his old point-and-shoot camera. I initially discovered my love for taking photographs of flowers and different elements of our natural world. It was beautiful and seemed safe at the time.

When I was in high school, I joined the school newspaper as the staff photographer. This gave me an introduction into taking photographs of people. All different types of people.

When I moved on to bigger and better things in college, I decided to minor in photography. Our school had a well-renowned art department, so I thought it would be a good idea to make the most of the resources it had to offer. I recall the discomfort of my first photography class critique — we reviewed each other’s work and gave constructive criticism (out loud). It was extremely difficult. I learned eventually to not shy away from criticism, as I saw my craft improving with time and peer feedback.

After college, I moved to San Francisco and tried to start my own photography business. My passion had evolved from taking photographs of the natural world to taking photographs of food. Yep, food porn basically. I was offered opportunities to assist on bigger photo projects for brands showcasing ice creams, soups, yogurts, and for projects for Bon Appetit magazine. I was loving the challenges and the different types of art I was being exposed to.

To this day, I still love photography. I look forward to its next big challenge for me.

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