Student Blog
Getting Involved

Election Day! ⟩
November 6, 2012, by Amber

Getting Involved

Tonight we will learn who our next President will be. It’s always amazing to see the attention of the nation focused so singularly. Today, the halls at school were filled with students wearing their “I Voted” stickers. Many wore red, white, and blue clothing. Conversations centered around the when and where people voted, and who they voted for.

Now that we are becoming occupational therapists, when we vote we also need to consider how a particular candidate or legislative bill might affect the future of our profession. Our state and national associations both have political action committees. According to their website, the Occupational Therapy Association of California Political Action Committee (OTAC PAC) is a voluntary nonprofit committee that is not affiliated with any political party. The purpose of the PAC is to provide a voice for occupational therapy practitioners in the State of California political arena. The PAC accomplishes this purpose by providing financial support to California legislative and constitutional officeholders and candidates that benefit the public by improving and protecting issues related to occupational therapy. As students, we can get involved in the PAC to advocate for occupational therapy in the state of California.

The American Occupational Therapy Political Action Committee (AOTPAC) is a voluntary, non-profit, unincorporated committee of members of AOTA. Their website states the purpose of AOTPAC as furthering the legislative aims of the Association by influencing or attempting to influence the selection, nomination, election, or appointment of any individual to any Federal public office, and of any occupational therapist, occupational therapy assistant, or occupational therapy student member of AOTA seeking election to public office at any level. The committee is not affiliated with any political party.

OTAC and AOTA need PACs because the organizations alone cannot contribute even a token amount to a candidate. Through the PAC, OTAC and AOTA can solicit and direct the flow of contributions from its members and provide important assistance to individual candidates for election to office. Please submit a comment below and let me know about your voting experience!

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OT Global Day of Service ⟩
November 2, 2012, by Paula

Community Getting Involved What are OS/OT?

Last weekend, on October 27th, was the Occupational Therapy Global Day of Service in which occupational therapists worldwide become involved in volunteer efforts in observance of World Occupational Therapy Day. This year, students from USC’s Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy took this opportunity to go out with friends to lend a helping hand while also educating others on the all that the profession has to offer. Students were involved in many different ways for the Global Day of Service.

I was lucky enough to volunteer with an organization called CFY. This group helps families set up their own computer-based Home Learning Center at the beginning of the workshop, learn basic software operations and get hands-on experience using their Home Learning Center to improve reading, writing, and mathematics. In the sessions, we assisted families during the workshop and helped keep the day running smoothly. At the end of the trainings, families pack up their Home Learning Center and take it home. This was a truly humbling experience to be able to volunteer with this group and extremely applicable to occupational therapy as we were enabling families to learn in which was some of their very first exposure to a computer and we were able to give them the tools to interact in an educational manner with their children.

Having grown up in a generation which is so completely engrossed in all things technology, this was an extremely valuable experience for me and a reminder of how different lived experiences can be from one person to the next. I was so excited to participate in this day of service and I am proud of my fellow occupational therapy students and practitioners who also took the time out of their Saturday in order to give back to the community, to pay it forward, and to educate someone else of the importance and applicability of occupational therapy.

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NAMI ⟩
November 1, 2012, by Alisa

Classes Getting Involved What are OS/OT?

One of our assignments for my class was to attend a National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) meeting. I attended a family-to-family support group on Monday, and to be honest, it was a truly eye-opening experience to be able to hear about the families’ lived experience. My attendance at the meeting confirmed my desire to work in the mental health setting. Some of the families in attendance have family members such as sons and daughters, spouses, and siblings who are affected by mental conditions. These conditions include borderline personality disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety, and depression.

I thought the set-up of the meeting worked well where everyone said his or her name and the person in their family living with a mental condition. After the check-in, the two facilitators attempted to problem solve urgent issues first, then they tried to problem solve other issues together as a group as time permitted. The facilitators stated that it was especially hard to know that what we have planned for our family members might not turn out to be exactly as planned. Everyone has come a long way, and by showing up to the meeting is a step toward change. One member shared that how a mental condition affects marriage and now has affected her son. It was comforting for me to learn that despite living with a mental condition, it is still possible to live life to the fullest when paired with medications and therapy. Sometimes it is a “difference between night and day” as one member stated. Some of their loved ones have graduated from universities, but they are now struggling with keeping a job. One member shared that her sibling wanted to get more involved and give back to the community and share what it is like to live with a mental condition and lupus.

As I experienced the meeting, I could empathize with some of the family members whose siblings are living with a mental condition. I felt that the families at the meeting cared about their loved ones, and I have found a place where it is fine to talk about our lived experiences. Although I have chosen not to share about my experiences since I wanted to observe at my first time there, I could see myself returning to the group and learning more from the families there. It has provided me to a valuable learning experience indeed. Some of the group members stated that it was important for them to attend the group because it meant a lot for their loved ones. Some felt that violence was an issue while others attend because they want to find new ways of coping. Some are still going to the grieving process while others have come to terms with their loved ones. All in all, the meeting provided a safe space for anyone to share and learn, and for that, I am grateful that such amazing organizations exist. Go NAMI!

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Getting Back In The Water ⟩
October 15, 2012, by Paula

Getting Involved Life Hacks

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to engage in a neglected occupation of mine at the annual Team KC Swimathon: swimming! Team KC, a Livermore-based organization, was created to honor and remember an inspiring young girl and friend of mine, Korrine Croghan. Korrine was diagnosed with choriocarcinoma in December of 2007 and fought vigorously until she passed away in October of 2008. She had a dream to raise money for other children fighting cancer in order to supply them and their families cope with everything they are dealing with and providing assistance with rent, bills, gas cards, coffee cards, etc. The Swimathon is an annual event which raises money to help meet the immediate needs of these pediatric cancer patients and their families.

I have been pushing away from this activity which used to be a component of each day for many years of my life and I always give the excuse that it is because of time, money and location. Although I know that I have many resources to look into to develop this occupation back to what it once was, I often find multiple excuses as to why I should not make these changes. Overall, regardless of what workout I do, it is not the same as swimming and I only feel completely content with a workout if I have had a challenging swim also. The Swimathon was a perfect reminder of the community which I grew up in and the relationships formed through all of the years of swimming. Once again, Korrine has inspired me to engage further and to reassess my reasoning for not swimming when I have the opportunity. She was always a motivator and I think that she would have made an amazing OT. ;]

If any of you are interested in more information about Team KC or Korrine’s story, you can check out the Facebook page, or go to Korrine’s Blog.

Go out and engage in something you have been meaning to. Live life to its fullest!

(Also, a big THANK YOU to all of you who supported Team KC throughout this process and who remembered Korrine by donating to my swim. It means the world!)

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Outreach ⟩
October 15, 2012, by Amber

Getting Involved

One of the neat things I get to do as a student ambassador is represent USC’s occupational therapy program at outside conferences and events. This weekend, I went to the University of California in Irvine to participate in an event for pre-health undergraduate students. There were over 400 students in attendance and dozens of exhibitors from different organizations representing medicine, nursing, public health, and many other disciplines. It was fun to be an exhibitor and meet students from another university. Many wanted to know exactly what occupational therapists do, and several were already excited to join the profession. Leave me a comment below if you want to see USC OT at your school!

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