Student Blog
Beginnings and Endings

End of the MA program ⟩
June 2, 2011, by Pierre

Beginnings and Endings

Much has been accomplished these past few months . . . research, papers, tests, comprehensive exams, celebrations, graduation, and now, my last fieldwork internship. I can honestly say, these 2 years in the MA program have flown by so fast and I’ve become the better for it. There was much pressure, lack of sleep, deadlines to meet, relationships to uphold, and future plans to be made . . . and, I’m still alive. My educational experience here at USC has really proved to be valuable. I find myself really applying everything I’ve learned in my treatment sessions, attempting to ‘grow’ my clinical reasoning skills, and above all, advocating for our profession in my practice area.

I always heard of USC being the leader in Occupational Therapy and Occupational Science, but I didn’t realize how well they equip you to become an emerging leader as well. I am very happy to have come out of this program feeling that I can take on any challenge posed before me in the various clinical settings.

So, what else lies before me? The OTD.

Fight on USC OT!

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Finals week! ⟩
April 24, 2011, by Helen

Beginnings and Endings

As we are in the midst of finishing finals in the second year of the program and studying for our comprehensive exam, everyone is getting increasingly anxious to graduate!

Several times I’ve been asked “are you ever worried about finding a job after graduation?” or “do you feel well prepared to start working once you graduate?” With a week left before graduation, and so many of my classmates mapping out their post-graduation plans, I am realizing how lucky we all have been for our time at USC. Nearly all my friends know what population they’d like to work with, what type of setting they prefer to work in, and are already interviewing — some are already employed. Others, like myself, are staying another year to complete the clinical doctorate program. Regardless of what path my classmates have chosen to take, I feel like the consensus is that everyone feels very excited to conquer the licensure exam and is anxious to begin practicing. In the past two years of the program we have been presented with so many opportunities to network and gain hands on practice experience that I do not feel any fear of being unable to find employment post graduation. This confidence in regards to future job opportunity stems from both the high demand for occupational therapists in various arenas and knowing that my education at USC has been great in providing my classmates and I a broad foundation to work in any OT setting.

I am very excited to be graduating in a week and am looking forward to starting the clinical doctorate program in the fall!

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Undecided and Excited! ⟩
January 23, 2011, by Austen

Beginnings and Endings What are OS/OT?

Here we are entering the third week of our last semester, and let me tell you, time has flown by! The end is in sight and the real world is fast approaching. That means the search for jobs is about to start. Everyday I ask myself what am I going to do? Where do I want to work? Where do I want to live? Usually, I would have answers to these questions, a plan for the next step. However, in this situation I do not.

All throughout college the unknown was scary to me. I needed a goal to work towards, a direction. I always had something to work towards, a major, a career in mind, etc. That is part of why I chose to pursue an occupational therapy degree. It was an end goal, a direct path, and a specific degree for a wonderful career I knew I would enjoy. I also thought I knew exactly what I wanted to do within OT: I wanted to work with kids. However, over these past 2 years, I have realized I am not so sure about that anymore. I am not sure what I want to do or what is coming next. That would typically make me very uneasy, being a Type A personality. Much to my surprise, I am not worried at all.

Perhaps part of my comfort with the unknown is knowing that occupational therapy provides lots of opportunities. Anywhere I move, there will be jobs. Any area I choose to pursue, there will be jobs. That is part of the beauty of OT! Also, if I take a job in an area I end up not enjoying, I can always switch to a new practice area and try something new. The challenge is going to be choosing where to start, what to try first. But the thought of not knowing where that is going to be is exciting to me. I get to enter a new adventure of my life, one that is finally unplanned. All of my life I have planned the future, the next step, and I am ready to be spontaneous for once and see where I end up. Luckily I know that wherever I end up in OT, I will be happy!

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Fall semester is done! ⟩
December 14, 2010, by Pierre

Beginnings and Endings Classes Community

It truly has been a great experience here at USC. I can just remember the first summer semester like it was yesterday . . . and now, I have 1 more semester to go and 1 more fieldwork to experience and then almost done! Can’t say I’m looking forward to comprehensive exams at next year or studying for the NBCOT exam, but I’m happy to have gone to USC for my education. They say all education is the same — in the end you get the same degree, but with the debt is the main difference.

It’s true, that USC didn’t have the lowest tuition among the schools I was applying to last year, but I can say that all the classes, the teacher interaction, the scholarships available, the resources abounding, the OT history among our hallways, the career positioning within the city, the diverse/international fieldwork affiliations, the networks you create, the USC name behind the degree, and the overall supportive culture among the students and faculty are beyond tuition costs. It’s one thing to base an education on financial costs vs quality of education . . . USC puts student learning first and really seeks to prepare us for the real world of OT.

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Looking Back: 2nd Year → Graduation! ⟩
May 14, 2010, by Mari

Beginnings and Endings Getting Involved School/Life Balance

2nd Year of OT school!

There is so much that I could talk about within the last few weeks, let alone, my whole second year! I can’t believe that’s it’s already time to graduate! Have you ever felt that you had so many things to do and just not enough time to do it all?! I imagine many people can relate. That’s how I felt for the last month of this past semester. Not only was I trying to keep up with my weekly school work, I was preparing to take our comprehensive exam at the end of the year and thinking about my summer fieldwork, which I will be going to Hawaii (my home) for. Just a few weeks ago, I was wondering how I would ever get it all done, and now, I will be graduating! The comp exam, which covers all our second year material and is required to pass in order to graduate, is finally done — what a relief! Although I was really nervous for it, as I am with any exam, I felt assured that I had learned all the material once before, so I should do well. To find out that I passed was the last thing before graduation! Tomorrow, we will be graduating as the USC OT Class of 2010!! We’re making history! Next for me is my last level II fieldwork, which will be on the outpatient service at a hospital in Hawaii where I’m from. I’m so excited to be moving home! It’s really weird because I’ve been in California for a while, but I think I’m about ready to move on to this next chapter in my life! Looking back on my second year, there are so many things that happened, it’s hard to capture it all in one blog. I will post a few pictures of some of my favorite memories!

In November, last fall, I had the opportunity to attend the AOTA Student Conclave, which was held in Baltimore. I travelled with Grace, a fellow OT student and along with going to to conference, visited friends, toured D.C., and lobbied on Capital Hill Day at Senator Boxer’s office (see picture below). It was a lot of fun and a good break before the semester finished. I enjoyed spending time with my classmates outside of class and getting connected with the OT community. It was a great experience and I highly recommend it if you get the opportunity to go to something like that!

Another fun break toward the end of the fall semester was going to my very first and only USC football game! It was so much fun to hang out with friends and have the “real” USC experience! I was able to go to the USC v. UCLA game, and we won!! It was a great end to the semester, even though the football team didn’t do as great as they usually have done in the past! I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to go to another USC football game, although USC does play UH (University of Hawaii) at Hawaii in their season opener next season! So, we’ll see!

Throughout the whole second year, as you probably already know, I was a student ambassador for our department, along with Sarah, Michelle, Myka, and Gus. It was truly a great experience for me to work close with our recruitment office. We were all able to do grad fairs, information sessions, recruitment for our Occupational Science minor classes, tabling events at the main USC campus, and many more fun events to promote OT! Having the opportunity to do this has made me even more passionate about my profession! It gets me so excited to talk to others about what OTs do because of the great services that OTs can offer almost everyone! Besides work, it was a great time to get to know the other ambassadors and we have really become a lot closer through our experiences together!

And finally, OT banquet! What a beautiful way to end the semester, year, and OT program — yummy food, great people, fun music and dancing!! Although not everyone in our class could attend, it was a fun night to get together and just relax after our comp exam! We only talked about the exam a little, but we were able to fully enjoy the night anyway, despite not knowing if we had passed yet!

Thank you for reading our blogs! I know the ambassadors next year will do an amazing job to continue what we have been doing! I hope you’ve enjoyed it! =)

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