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USC Interdisciplinary Health Symposium! ⟩
October 21, 2013, by Kate

Community Getting Involved

This Saturday, the USC Student-Run Clinic presented the 3rd Annual USC Interdisciplinary Health Symposium. I was fortunate enough to be on the planning committee for this event as part of the USC Student-Run Clinic Occupational Therapy Board. Since the first week of school, I have been meeting with different students from the other health profession programs (medicine, physician assistant and pharmacy) to put together the panels and topics to be covered. This year the keynote covered disaster-preparedness, an all-too important topic since we live in California, the home of a few earthquakes here and there. The afternoon tracks included cerebrovascular accident (CVA aka stroke) and motivational interviewing, or what to do after a disaster hits. There was great attendance by students from all the programs and I am so proud to have been a part of it!

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Talking to Undergraduate Students ⟩
September 30, 2013, by Kate

Community Living in LA What are OS/OT?

Today I had the chance to go talk to some of the undergraduate classes at USC about the field of occupational therapy. It was so great to be back on the University Park Campus (most of the master’s classes are on the Health Sciences Campus, which is northeast of downtown). Since I graduated in 2006 I have gone back for football games and other special events. But it was really neat to be back here on a Monday, going to a class with undergraduate students, and telling them about my new career path and passion.

It is so easy for me to share my love for all things USC and now for all things occupational therapy. Sometimes I wish it was easy for everyone to feel the same feelings!! I know everyone has their own path and journey in life, however. It’s just very exciting when I see other young minds at one of the greatest universities in the country working towards something greater than themselves. I asked the class the question: “After you graduate, what do you want out of a job?” It warmed my heart to hear the first thing out of multiple students’ mouths was “I want to make the world a better place,” and “I want to be fulfilled.” And I know USC and the occupational therapy program can give students what they want out of a career. What can I say? USC and OT have my heart!!

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OTSC Retreat ⟩
September 19, 2013, by Jen

Community Getting Involved

This past Sunday was the annual Occupational Therapy and Science Council (OTSC) retreat. This was the first time the new OTSC executive board met and discussed plans for the year. I was very excited to hear everyone’s ideas and got to know each member of the board. We have a lot of motivated and diverse members on the board, so I know it will be an exciting and successful year. The executive board is made up of about 30 first-year and second-year master’s students, an OTD representative, and a PhD representative. Some ideas discussed included getting students motivated to attend the 2014 American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) conference in Maryland, fundraisers where money will be donated to non-profit organizations, and new social events. After the board met, the rest of OTSC (which includes all graduate students in occupational therapy) was invited to join us for pool party and barbeque. It was a great turn out! We made it a potluck and there ended up being more than enough food for everyone to stuff their stomachs. This was a fun and casual way to build unity between the many students in the Division.

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A great way to start the year ⟩
September 5, 2013, by Rob

Classes Community What are OS/OT?

One of my favorite parts about attending the program here at USC is the tremendous diversity that can be found amongst the 100-something people in each class. From dancers and gourmet chefs to artist and musicians, each of us possess some unique background unrelated to occupational therapy that we can bring to the profession and each other.

This past weekend was a perfect example. Over the summer, I had the opportunity to be a Classroom Assistant for the incoming first-years in both Kinesiology and Neuroscience. Donna was a student in my Neuroscience lab, who I could tell had a lot of creativity and ideas floating around in her head. She invited me to a special event she was having at her house last Saturday. She wanted to build a ramp that would help one of her classmates who rides in an electric wheelchair get up the two cement steps on her front porch. That way, if they wanted to hang out or have a study group, there would be no accessibility issues.

Donna recruited over a dozen of her classmates to help and it turned into one of the highlights of my summer. With a background in art, carpentry and design, Donna was able to facilitate the whole affair, teaching everyone tool safety as well as the practical aspects of creating a ramp. People that had never used a drill or saw were cutting wood, snapping chalk lines, and laying screws along a straight edge. It was a beautiful sight.

Everyone brought food and we feasted all afternoon. Then, after successfully testing the ramp and decorating it in Trojan colors, we were all able to finally go inside for ice cream. At the end, we had a jam session with a few of the many instruments Donna has collected over her years as a musician. I left with a feeling of fullness from a job well done (or maybe it was the massive amounts of potstickers, watermelon, and brownies I ate!) and people well met that I’ve experienced more as an OT student than I have in a lifetime. These are the moments that make our program, and the people in it, so special.

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Looking back ⟩
May 3, 2013, by Kendra

Community Getting Involved

I cannot believe nearly two years ago, I was walking the halls of USC for the very first time. Then I was nervous, will they like me? I hoped I’d made the right decision with USC. And I hoped above all else that Occupational Therapy was the career path for me.

Fast forward two years and I could not feel more confident I chose the right school and right profession, and I also made some friends along the way!

Last week at AOTA Conference, it was like prom. It was the final weekend with peers I’ve grown to love and professionals I respect. I felt empowered and excited, exactly what I need as I transition to the real world.

USC has been such a blessing. The program, the faculty, the students, everything has come together to create an ideal learning experience for me. This is my final post as an OSOT Ambassador. One of the highlights of my time at USC has been this job. It has been as fundamental to my OT education as quantitative research and clinical reasoning. Working for the Division, I’ve been able to get to know the professors better and grow confident talking about OT to all people. I see OT in everything and do not hesitate promoting our profession to any one who will listen. I will treasure this experience for the rest of my life.

I’ve talked a lot about being from Texas, and naturally I’m full of Texas pride. When I chose to attend USC, you can imagine I got a little pushback from Texans, and I too was hesitant to embrace the notion of being ‘a part of the Trojan family.’

Not anymore. I’m so proud to be a Texan AND a Trojan. Go USCOT! and Fight on!

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