Student Blog
International

Time is of the essence ⟩
February 24, 2017, by Raisa

Externships International

It is officially the end of Week 7 for the spring term. Campus is so quiet now with everyone going off on their Externships. A unique part of our graduate program is we are given the chance to go on a two-week leadership externship. This externship is for the course completion of OT540: Leadership Capstone. The goal of this externship is to develop leadership qualities and traits, which will help prepare students to assume leadership roles in the field of occupational therapy. Read Kimmy’s blog to read more about the Leadership Capstone course and Externship.

This year we have students to who will be taking their externship in Australia, Denmark, South Korea, Ghana, the UK, Sweden, Philippines, and China. Very exciting time indeed! Can’t wait to hear all the exciting stories and experiences when everyone gets back.

I will be spending my externship with the Global Initiatives team. I am definitely excited to start working on some projects for the international students (admitted and prospective 😜), I hope to make new friends while honing my managerial and leadership skills.

When we return from our Externship and Spring Break it’ll be mid-March, and that means full speed ahead to graduation! It feels just like yesterday I started this program, and started my blog. A little part of me doesn’t want this to end, there’s still so much to learn and so much to do!

Time is of the essence and it is time to make things count.

Fight on everyone! Enjoy your externships!

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Being multi-lingual is awesome ⟩
January 27, 2017, by Raisa

International Life Hacks

One of the most challenging things about being an international student is breaking the “language barrier.” Especially entering a graduate program, sitting through classes with English as the medium of instruction will seem intimidating. However, do not fear because anything is possible when you set your mind to it!

Some readers have been eager to learn different ways on how to improve their English. Today I wanted to share with you some strategies on how to master the English language.

Television was one of the many ways I polished my English. I loved watching TV shows like F.R.I.E.N.D.S, Scrubs, and How I Met Your Mother. I always recommend this method, since the stories are always interesting plus you will get a glimpse of American culture. The internet also holds much promise in helping you learn a second language. Youtube has been a great platform for sharing videos and gaining information. You could also visit our YouTube page to see what’s going on in the Chan Division.

Reading has also been one of my favorite occupations. I can pick up a good book and just read on for hours until I finish it. Reading is a great way to get a good idea of the English grammar. It’s one thing to hear it and another thing to see it. Read Kimmy’s blog about how she loves reading too.

Lastly, I believe that actually practicing your English will be the most beneficial way of learning. Our professors here always say “You use it or lose it,” practice makes perfect! It is always helpful to practice conversing with someone who has a good mastery of the English language. In this way you will get over your nerves and it will help you get used to conversing with an English speaker.

There are many resources out there to help you improve your communication skills. Websites like BBC Learning English, IELTS preparation and TOEFL-tips are my favorite sites to go to especially when polishing my English.

Don’t be intimidated by the English language, embrace your multi-lingual tongue and add English under your repertoire of spoken languages!

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Thanksgiving Potluck 2016 ⟩
November 14, 2016, by Raisa

Community International Living in LA

Can you believe that we only have about two more months to go before 2016 ends?! That also means that the fall semester ends in around 5 weeks! Yikes!

So November is here! Time to enjoy the cooling weather and fun fall activities. One notable fall event that should not be missed is Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a traditional American holiday that is usually celebrated on the fourth thursday of November. However, thanksgiving came early for us this year. The MA-1 students were able to celebrate together on the beach, in true California fashion, all thanks to the efforts of Global Initiatives and Dr. Erna Blanche. The day was filled with fun, sand, waves and lots of food. Traditionally Thanksgiving would be celebrated with a whole oven roasted turkey, but we decided to take a trip around the world. Since it was a potluck, the class each shared a dish from their country. We had dishes from India, Taiwan, Philippines, Korea, Scotland, Italy and America, our bellies were stuffed! After the festivities, and a nice game of charades we headed out to the beach to watch the sunset. Needless to say it was beautiful. The sound of the waves crashing, the colors of the sun setting and the changing sky were magical. It was truly a beautiful end to such a lovely day.

On behalf of the MA-1 class I would like to extend our gratitude to Global Initiatives and Dr. Erna Blanche for hosting and coordinating this thanksgiving potluck for the class. It was a lovely day, and great way to get to know everyone through their food as well as culture.

Here are some pictures from our trip (all photos used with permission from owners, Arielle Villanueva and Kathryna Gomez).

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A Month into the Program ⟩
October 5, 2016, by Raisa

Community International Living in LA

Hello, everyone! For my first ever blog post as an international student ambassador, I wanted to share with you how my first month as a Trojan went. Being an international student I basically had to uproot my life in the Philippines in order to move to Los Angeles so I could attend the on-campus post-professional Master of Arts in Occupational Therapy program here at USC. Migrating from one country to another is not as easy as it sounds, it sure was exciting but not easy. One month before my flight, time sped up so fast it literally felt like everything happened in the blink of an eye. The hardest part of the move was saying goodbye to my friends, workmates, and family. Then the day finally came when I said goodbye to my homeland of 24 years and embarked on a new exciting adventure.

Arriving in Los Angeles was both fun and scary, this city was a new environment, similar to home but at the same time different in many ways. It felt good to have a change of environment. To mark our entrance into the medical profession the division held a white coat ceremony for all new students. The white coat ceremony was a rite of passage that all OT students go through, the white coat symbolizes both the responsibility and the privilege that we hold as occupational therapists. During my ceremony that’s when it all sunk in, I was finally a Trojan!

Once class started I did not feel so alien to the city of LA. I met my classmates from the MA-1 program and we all got along really well, it was nice to form a support system in a new environment. For the first month of classes, I was delighted and eager to absorb all that USC has to offer. I will not lie, the first few weeks of class will take some getting used to. You will have to acclimate to the methods of teaching, medium of instruction and for some of my classmates’ language posed a big issue to learning. There will be sleepless nights and books you will read over and over again but don’t worry. The good news is that all that work will be worth it! In my 4½ weeks into the program, I have learned many new concepts that will shape how I will hold my future practice. The best part is that I am re-learning concepts from my undergraduate degree but I am learning them from a different perspective. It is both refreshing and eye-opening to study different occupational therapy concepts from a different point of view. One month into the program and I am falling more in love with Occupational Therapy! My first month as a Trojan has been exhilarating and I cannot wait to share with you what else USC has in store for me.

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Annyeonghaseyo Korea! ⟩
March 22, 2016, by Rashelle

Externships International

Hello all! The past couple of weeks have been a crazy whirlwind of events for us second year master’s students. Each year for our leadership capstone, USC students participate in a 2-week externship. Heather describes in detail what that is in her previous blog.

I, along with 10 other classmates, chose to go to South Korea, to participate in one of externships provided by the USC Chan Division of Global Initiatives. We were split between three universities, Inje, Yonsei and Soonchunhyang, and were able to experience a cultural immersion within each respective occupational therapy department. We learned about occupational therapy by studying the diversity within health care and educational systems, along with culture-specific population needs of people with disabilities in Korea. As occupational therapists we realize the importance of understanding each client’s customs, routines and motivations in order to help them participate in meaningful activities. Inje University allowed us to obtain this cultural knowledge by interacting with professors and students, participating in occupational therapy treatment sessions at the HOPE clinic (Healing through Occupational Performance Enhancement) and attending classroom lectures. Dr. An, the therapist and professor we learned from in Korea, taught us specifically about how to be a compassionate, energetic and knowledgable leader in one’s field, which is a lesson that I will take with me no matter what practice area I enter. By coming to Korea we all received much more than we had expected. Aside from all of the knowledge gained about occupational therapy, we believe that we have truly grown as individuals by the relationships formed with Inje University administrators, professors and students.

Furthermore, while I learned so much from actually going to Korea, the best preparation for this trip actually came from meeting Korean students ahead of time during their visit to the United States! Six Yonsei University students actually came to USC about a month ago to experience a similar cultural immersion in America.

While they were here to learn about occupational therapy at USC, we actually learned so much from them as well!

They were able to give me a heads up on what to expect in Korea, and how to impress my friends at Inje University with popular Korean expressions and cute little hand gestures.

Now I can truly feel as though I know both sides of a cultural immersion, by serving as a host to Korean visitors, as well as a guest of honor. Neither of these experiences would have been possible though, without the planning and coordinating efforts of Dr. Daniel Park, and the rest of the USC Chan Division of Global Initiatives.

I am forever appreciative for the work that Global Initiatives has done to make these remarkable experiences possible! If you want to learn more about other Global Initiative projects you can see their Facebook at facebook.com/USCChanOSOTGlobal

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