Student Blog
International

The A-Z’s of USC OT: Part I ⟩
February 24, 2021, by Bethany

Admissions Diversity Externships Getting Involved International

As a Bachelor’s-to-Master’s student, I have been a part of the USC OT community for nearly five years. While learning to call this school home, I have realized that I am so lucky to be where I am. I’ve decided to compile an A-Z list of USC OT attributes that drew me to the program and that I learned as a part of the Trojan Family.

Area — USC is located in the wonderful California city of Los Angeles. Not only can you find a lot of OT volunteer opportunities nearby if you want to check out OT, but you can also drive to the beach, hike to the Hollywood sign, or check out amazing eateries.

Beyond classes — Outside of classes, there are a multitude of student organizations and groups that allow students to encourage growth within the school and also growth in the community we serve.

Creativity — Creativity is so integral to occupational therapy that we have an entire Foundations course on creativity. Not only do we look at crafts occupations, but we use creativity to find new ways to approach and solve problems with engaging in these occupations.

Diversity — Our division places a high value on representation from people of all different backgrounds. Whether it be looking at ethic diversity in admissions, gender representation in OT, or even diversity in ages and stages of life, our students and faculty are open to difficult and perspective-building discussions.

Early Level II — Some OT schools have classwork first and both Level II Fieldwork placements after. But we have our first placement the summer in between academic years, getting to bring our fieldwork experience into our final year of classes to build on that new understanding.

Finances — Funding school can be a difficult discussion. The division offers their own scholarships and financial aid resources. In addition, USC has resources for their students and scholarships through the university itself and other organizations.

Global — Students can expand their global perspective by planning an externship abroad. Or we can increase our understanding of OT around the world through our very own Global Initiatives program!

Hands-on — Whether in labs or in fieldwork or even in practice activities in lectures, I have been grateful for learning-by-doing opportunities. Now in fieldwork, I can see how small activities that we may have done in class can be used with my clients.

Interdisciplinary — We study how OT fits with other health professions, such as PT and social work. Students can also take advantage of other incredible programs at USC by taking electives in other schools, such as the Davis School of Gerontology, the Marshall School of Business, or the Rossier School of Education.

Jobs — There are good job prospects in OT, as it is a quickly growing field. You can also pick up a student worker position while in school, like my job as a student ambassador.

Knowledgeable professors — Our professors are open to talking about coursework and the OT field outside the classroom. They work with us to make sure that we can get a full experience, working with different accommodations needed and through different life circumstances.

Lifestyle Redesign — Lifestyle Redesign was created at USC. Students can both learn about a unique framework and experience it, too. Our faculty practice offers services to students who can experience Lifestyle Redesign and its impact on their lives and occupations as students.

Mental health — This is an area of OT that is not often given enough space, but here, it has its own immersion. After this class, I was more open to the idea of mental health and how occupational therapists can impact mental health and therefore performance in occupations.

New perspectives — In our classes, we discuss how different people would approach different cases and how our various perspectives can be expanded through others’ experiences. We learn from each other to expand our own creative thinking.

Stay tuned for Part II. 😊

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10 Things I Like About Being a Student Ambassador ⟩
January 29, 2021, by Yna

Getting Involved International

We recently conducted an information session about the student ambassador position, which made me look back and reflect upon my experience thus far as a student ambassador—and I came up with a list of 10 things that I like about being one!

1. Forming connections with a lot of people — For the most part, being a student ambassador is really about connecting with different people: from prospective students, current students, alumni, clinicians, faculty, and staff. Whether it is to answer a prospective student’s question during an info session/career fair, or to gather my fellow classmates’ opinions, or to ask for a clinician’s expert advice, every interaction is unique and helps me broaden my perspective about different matters.
2. Being of help to prospective students — Not too long ago, I was also in the position of being an applicant which I know could feel overwhelming, especially if you’re coming from a different country like myself. I remember having feelings of anxiety because the whole application process was pretty novel to me, not to mention a whole lot other things to take into consideration such as housing, scholarships, and financial aid. Being a student ambassador allows me to be of assistance to students who find themselves in this position by sharing my experiences—tips on what I’ve found helpful, what not to do, who to reach out to, and other helpful resources I can provide them.
3. Having lots of opportunity to be creative — I work closely with Lamoni in managing USC Chan’s pages; and having to create content for social media indeed opens up lots of opportunities to bring creative ideas to the table. This goes starting from planning out what content to publish, to designing eye-catching posts, to crafting interesting captions; and in general just always being open and thinking about new ideas.
4. Sharing thoughts and experiences (mine and my fellow students’) — Writing blogs, for me, has been a time to sit down, pause, and think: about interesting things that have happened, about what kind of information students need at this time, or about how can I represent students in the division and share their experiences as well. It is particularly enjoyable for me whenever I get to work on projects together with my classmates in the program such as when I created a fun video about winter break occupations, because I feel like I was able to take a peek at what everyone’s been up to while we weren’t together in class, which I get to share with other readers too.
5. Working with other amazing student ambassadors — I have had so much to learn from being around the other 6 talented student ambassadors who each possesses unique skill sets. Although we each have our own ambassador duties, a lot of the tasks inevitably overlap with each other, which allows us to partner with one another and share responsibilities. I consider myself lucky to have found an amazing support system within the recruitment team who are all very supportive and willing to help each other out.
6. Enhancing my skills and discovering new ones — Being a student ambassador has given me so much opportunities to create and compile videos which greatly contributed to the improvement of my skills. Before coming to USC, I decided to learn how to edit videos just for fun and started creating short travel vlogs. I’m glad to have been able to utilize this skill, this time for various events around the division. I mean, I still have so much to learn and improve on but I’m definitely better than when I first started! =)) Moreover, since a lot of the ambassador work involves getting in touch with different people, this has helped me, over time, be more comfortable communicating with other people whether personally or through other virtual platforms. Finally, I’ve also learned to do new things such as utilizing and managing different platforms to organize online meetings for info sessions, create RSVP forms, and send out post-event surveys through the help of other student ambassadors who are well-versed when it comes to these matters.
7. Challenging my comfort zone — One of my major inhibitions when I was just about to apply for the student ambassador position was that public speaking is not really my strong suit. While up to this date it still isn’t, I have managed to organize and host a couple of international info sessions together with a few guest panelists from different countries. This part of the job is probably what really scared me the most, but I’m glad that I was able to push myself out of my comfort zone, which I believe is a very important first step!
8. Improving my time management skills — Given that enrollment in the MA program is full-time, having to work part-time really requires a great deal of time management skills for you to be able to achieve a balance not just between work and school but also leisure! I have learned strategies to spend my time wisely and be more organized in scheduling my work and school tasks. More importantly, I have also learned to ask for help from my team whenever the load gets too much to handle—one thing that our supervisor Kim always reminds us to do, as our well-being should always come first.
9. Supporting the admissions team — A few student ambassadors including myself have taken part in certain steps of the admission process. During this time, we have worked closely with Dr. Anvarizadeh, our director of admissions, as well as the whole admissions team, wherein I have witnessed the hard work that they all do to support and advocate for the community. It inspired me to be the change I want to see, as Dr. Anvarizadeh has always reminded us.
10. Being able to attend events — One of the fun parts of being a student ambassador is getting to be part of various events in the division! For example, I have provided support for Bianca, our special events program coordinator, in hosting the virtual holiday party for the Chan division last year. I enjoyed facilitating games for the Chan faculty members and staff and seeing them having a fun time while in their holiday outfits.

To wrap everything up, being a student ambassador overall enriches my USC student life experience. It is a great opportunity that I am glad to have taken, albeit my hesitations as a new and international student coming to LA.

For those of you who might be interested to apply as a student ambassador, you can send an email to my supervisor Kim Kho at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), the deadline to apply is on February 19th at 3:00pm. You can also check out Liz’s blog to know even more about the work as a student ambassador. As always, feel free reach out to me and I will be happy to answer any further questions! 😀

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Winter Break Occupations ⟩
January 11, 2021, by Yna

Diversity International Videos

Happy 2021 everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful time during the holiday season and are feeling well-rested and ready to start this year anew. We are but a few days away from going back to school for the spring semester. And so before we officially embark on this yet another new journey, why don’t we take a moment to look back and see what some of the Post-Professional Master’s students have been up to over the past few weeks of winter break? Check out this short video showing off how everyone spent their holidays with friends and family!

Despite being in this extraordinary circumstance, it’s delightful to witness people finding unique ways to celebrate the season. I can say at least for myself that the break has been restful and rejuvenating, for I’ve had plenty of opportunities to catch up with closest family members as we stayed in and simply spent time with each other.

As all things must come to an end, it is now time to face reality—going back to school! I find it quite difficult to believe that this will already be my final semester before graduating. I know that once we step into the new term, we’re going to be too busy to even take note of the amount of time passing by—at least this was my experience during the last semester. But however daunting this may seem, it is also exciting to think about all the new experiences and learnings that I will be gaining with my amazing classmates and supportive professors as we all go through this common yet unique journey together. I try to remind myself to just enjoy the ride and keep in mind that everything’s going to be alright. Now, it’s time to turn any worry into productive preparation for all the exciting things in store for us this year!

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#NoRegrets ⟩
December 28, 2020, by Calvin

Admissions Getting Involved International Life Hacks Living in LA

Since OT school wasn’t an option for me right out of undergrad, I thought, “Well, I guess it’s time for plan B: to take a gap year.” Except, as time went by, it started to feel less like a back-up plan and more like the decision I should’ve gone with all along!

My gap year happened pretty unintentionally, but I’m honestly so glad that I took that time off. After 4 years of undergrad, I felt burnt out! A change of pace was something I needed and taking a year off to rest and try new things ended up serving me really well. It was because of my gap year that I was able to pursue research in another country, visit family and friends back in Hong Kong, travel around the world, build my professional experiences, study for the GRE, and just overall, take a break from school! Even though I wasn’t on vacation 24/7, my schedule definitely allowed for a lot more flexibility. I also want to emphasize that taking time off before heading to graduate school is completely normal. I might even suggest it because it gave me the time to reflect, mature, and refocus my goals.

I know what it’s like to feel the pressure of securing something for yourself after undergrad. I also know what it’s like when that doesn’t work out. Not knowing what’s going to happen next is a scary thing, but it’s also an opportunity to challenge ourselves and grow in ways that we might not have imagined before. So, do what you need to do before starting grad school, and know that you don’t need to jump into it right away. Take the time to think about what’s best for you and your future.

My Gap Year Memories in Photos

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Start Your Applications Early! ⟩
October 16, 2020, by Yna

Admissions International

It is now mid-October and I could hardly believe that it’s already been a year since I submitted my application for the Post-Professional Master’s Program at USC! It seems like it was only yesterday that I was browsing the USC Chan admissions website for hours on end, feeling anxious about my application. Luckily for me, the whole process went by smoothly and didn’t turn out to be as stressful as I had anticipated; and I’m about to share with you some tips that made my application hassle-free:

1. Do your research. First and foremost, know what you’re getting into. The Chan Admissions page is a great resource where you can find all the information that you need. I know at first glance it could feel overwhelmingly packed with a lot of information from every tab, so what I did to help myself get organized was I created a document containing all the essential information about the program—location of the school, program duration, admission criteria, etc. Having this document handy makes it a lot easier whenever questions pop up at any time. Venturing onto something new always seems daunting at first, especially if you’ll be coming from a different country, but being informed helps you stay on top of things and consequently alleviate some anxiety you may be having about the application.
2. Develop a plan. The application process entails a lot of steps that you can’t just complete all in one sitting. Once you’ve done your research and more or less get a sense of the requirements that you need to complete, it’s now time to create a checklist that will help you better track where you are at, and what else needs to be done. It is of course vital to take note of important deadlines so you don’t miss them. Should you need to take any exams, such as English proficiency, make sure to schedule them as soon as possible to give you some leeway for any potential delays. In doing so, take into consideration not only the length of time you need to prepare for the exam, but also the amount of time it takes for the results to come back (and if the results are going to be sent to you, consider also the time it’ll take you to mail the results to the university, if need be).
3. Have your documents ready. This is particularly important if you’ll be coming from a different country—you want to make sure that you have everything that you need on hand before moving. Needless to say, it takes up more time, effort, and resources to be requesting for documents remotely; so before you go, request all the documents you think you may need, and get extra copies! Also keep in mind that for any document that is not in the English language, you may need to have them translated.
4. Take time to create your personal statement. Irrespective of how good of a writer you are, really put much thought and effort into crafting your personal statement. Read and absorb the prompt, then answer it with honesty and in a manner that reflects who you are. Don’t feel pressured trying to figure out what they’re looking to read from your essay; instead, draw on your experiences that will make your application stand out.  Last but not the least, stay within the word limit and be careful not to overlook any typographical and grammatical errors.
5. Explore financial resources. Funding for graduate school can be quite challenging, so take advantage of the many financial resources being offered at USC. Aside from scholarships and awards, there are also student worker positions that you can apply for, with work hours that can adjust to fit around your class schedule. You can find more information in the Scholarships and Financial Aid page.
6. Don’t hesitate to ask! If, at any step during the process, you find yourself in need of some clarification about anything, the student ambassadors Bethany, Calvin, Daniel, Lamoni, Liz, Savi, and myself are always willing to provide support!

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