Student Blog
International

We don’t want tricks; we just want treats! ⟩
November 13, 2019, by Japeth

International Living in LA

As someone from the other side of the world, I haven’t had a legit Halloween experience. So when my cohort asked if we were down for some trick or treating, we immediately said yes! Everyone was just so excited because it was something that’s new to most of us.

Last Halloween, we had two celebrations: the first one was during our Quantitative class and the second one was when we went to Pasadena to do trick or treats. Dr. Myka Persson organized a potluck lunch for the MA1 cohort. We brought our food to share to everyone and Dr. Myka baked Halloween pumpkin cookies using their own family recipe! It was really delicious . . . like I ate 4 of it. I love how our professors at USC Chan practice occupational balance.

Now this is the part that I always look forward when blogging – sharing with you all the pictures!

Until our next adventure, Fight On!

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Dreams are our Reality ⟩
September 18, 2019, by Japeth

Diversity Getting Involved International Living in LA

As I previously mentioned, USC Chan really knows how to welcome each and every student. Everyone makes sure that students feel the warmth and excitement of the entire Chan Division. Another way of them welcoming the international students is the Annual Welcome party at the Program Director’s house! We are very lucky to be able to spend time together as a cohort, together with Dr. Sarah Bream, Dr. Daniel Park, Dr. Emily Ochi, and other OT students from the Global Initiatives.

It was kind enough of the faculty to prepare a bus ride, food (both meat and vegetarian!), desserts, and games! While Dr. Ochi was busy preparing the snacks and desserts and Dr. Park was also busy grilling the burger patties, the students from Global Initiatives made sure that we take time to get to know each other more and learn from everyone’s experiences. We played a game called “Two truths and a lie”. In this game, each of us needed to say two honest statements that pertain to ourselves and a lie that should really sound like an honest statement too! Here’s the catch: the more the lie sounds real, the more everyone gets confused, and of course the more the game gets exciting!

After the game, Dr. Park called us to go to the backyard to start eating! (I actually ate two vegetable patties and one meat patty, that’s how yummy they were!!) Now, I’m sure you are wondering how the title is connected to this content . . . hang on, were getting there! The highlight of this welcome bbq party, to me, was not just the yummy food or the games. It was the part where we had to write on a piece of paper, things about us and our dreams or wishes for this academic year. Most of us had a graduation wish among our three wishes. Of course, who doesn’t want to graduate, right? Almost all of us had the same wishes and it made us all feel even more connected with each other. Dr. Ochi and Dr. Park also shared their own work! All I can say is that both of them are genuine and caring occupational therapists that act not only as our mentors, but also our family away from home.

I am sure that after a year filled with fun and learning, our dreams will turn into our reality!

FIGHT ON!

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Finding Family in Diversity ⟩
September 4, 2019, by Japeth

Diversity International

Moving out of your comfort zone to attend a university away from home is a huge change and thus, very challenging. Although for some, it might be an exciting milestone, others may be very anxious about it. For me, I had to experience so many changes at once. However, what kept me going during my first few weeks in LA was the support that I constantly received from any family and their physical presence here in LA at my most crucial adjustment phase. When they went home to the Philippines, it felt as though everything now is on me. I must say that living far away from home is a tough choice to make.

Most of my cohort have the same sentiments with me. We all came from different parts of the world and we are now living on our own in this beautiful city. We have known each other for just a week now, but we found the comfort of our homes in the arms of one another. Isn’t it amazing when we just met new people but it feels like we have known them for so long? One week has passed but I am looking forward to a very exciting and fruitful year together with my cohort!

This is all of us during the White Coat Ceremony last August 23, 2019. Our cohort consists of students from the Philippines, India, Taiwan, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and the US.

I would like to share our other photos too!

If you have questions about the Post-Professional Master of Arts Degree, feel free to contact me through my email at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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Summer is For Traveling ⟩
June 28, 2019, by Anijah

International School/Life Balance

My dad always tells me that it is very important to travel if you have the opportunity. My dad believes that traveling allows a person to see more of what the world has to offer. However, when the summer comes around my sister and I always go to the same places, such as Sacramento or Las Vegas with family. We go to these places because we are comfortable there. But this summer I decided to go to some new places.

Luckily, my sister was studying abroad this summer in Paris, so that was my first stop. During our time there we went to the usual tourist places such as the Eiffel Tower and various Museums. One of my favorite places that we visited, while in Paris, was the Saint Chappelle chapel because of the vibrant colors. If you ever get the chance to go to France, make sure you stop by to see the amazing glass work in the chapel. We also tested out some really cool restaurants, which allowed us to broaden our palettes and our waistlines.

We also got a chance to visit Amsterdam. This has now become one of my favorite places to visit. We had a great time there. Amsterdam is known for a variety of things. But the main things we enjoyed were the canal system and their Holland fries. We also had the opportunity spent most of our time with our cousins. Surprisingly, I found out that one of my cousins is studying to become an Occupational Therapist. It was amazing to hear about the similarities between our adaptive tools and procedures.

Europe is different from the US for many reasons, but one of the main differences that I enjoyed while there was the transportation system. Since it was the first time traveling internationally without any family, we had to learn how to get around and, it was so easy to figure out. By the end of our trip, I became a pro at using the trains to get to our destinations, with a little help of maps and the people, who were so nice and helpful. Europe is a great place to travel. I hope to go back soon.

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Congratulations on graduation! And What’s next? ⟩
May 1, 2019, by Goeun

Getting Involved International

Classes are done and I cannot believe that I’m almost done with the program! This is going to be my last blog and I’d love to tell you all the things that I’ve gone through this semester as well as my next steps!

This semester has been busier (I think) and more interesting semester. I had externship, electives, a career fair, and more!

On January, I came back from South Korea after winter break and started my new semester. The biggest difference between the Fall semester and the Spring semester is that students take mostly elective courses and a few required courses during Spring. I was excited to take classes what I’ve wanted to take and during the semester, I could have individual Lifestyle Redesign practice sessions with a partner as a therapist and as a client. Also, I could learn hands-on motor control techniques and treat a real client after practicing with classmates.

On February, for the first few weeks, I searched externship site and did externship from the last week of February for two weeks. Finding the site was not an easy process, but it was a great experience to actually think about my interests, possible resources, and build leadership skills. Also, I was working on an OPT visa process which I need after finishing the program. Thanks to Global Initiatives team, I could get general information about the process of applying for OPT visa.

On March, I had the externship until the first full week of March (March 8), and then, I had Spring break! After coming back from Spring break, we had a career fair from our Division. You can find more information about the career fair from one of our Student Ambassador, Jessica’s blog. Also, Global Initiatives held an Alumni Panel for international students which they invited recent international alumni from our Division to talk about what life is like after leaving the USC such as studying the NBCOT exam, job searching, job interviewing, figuring out fair salary, and adapting to a new work environment, etc. It was really helpful as I could get a lot of resources from both the career fair and the alumni panel. After attending them, I felt less pressured and worried as I could get some sense of planning after graduation.

On April, the semester has been going pretty well, and I tried to keep a balance between the schoolwork and my well-being.

On May, I’ll work on my final papers, exams, and the comprehensive exam. After that, I’ll graduate!!!

What’s next? For me, I will work for SOTI program from Global Initiatives from June to July, so I’ll be in school until July, after that, I will study for the NBCOT, and searching for a job. This will be my next steps and a new journey as a new graduate.

It has been really amazing studying in the USC Chan Division and I appreciate all who have been supporting me. Good luck with everyone and FIGHT ON!

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