Student Blog
Life Hacks

First Day of Classes ⟩
August 20, 2018, by Bethany

Life Hacks

This is it. The end of summer. The end of long sunny days, home-made lemonade, and sleeping in (except, of course, on weekends). The end of drive-in movies with old high school friends. The end of unscheduled days and reading stacks upon stacks of fiction novels. At least for now.

But it’s the start of something else. Junior year has begun, folks, and it’s time to get back to the grind. I’ve learned so much this summer about my favorite occupations, USC life in the summer, and different areas of occupational therapy. I’ve been able to meet so many different people from so many different backgrounds, all with a passion for helping people.

But I’m looking forward to where this semester is headed, and once I finish this semester, I only have one more until I’m taking all OT classes. It is strange to be thinking about not having music courses, general education writing courses, or even business courses in my schedule. But it will be nice to have a chance to really focus on occupational therapy. This semester, I’m starting to finish up classes for my minors in USC’s Marshall School of Business and Thornton School of Music. I’m looking forward to my Global Leadership class. I’m even taking a course in Hip Hop Music and Culture! I get to take the OT Foundations classes throughout this next year, starting with Foundations: Occupation and Foundations: Kinesiology in the fall. My Foundations: Occupation class is even at USC’s Center for Occupation and Lifestyle Redesign! I’m excited to be able to start building the foundations for what I will need in the Master’s program and beyond.

Fall also means football season and move-in day for the out-of-state and out-of-country friends I haven’t seen in a while. It will be nice to get back to the business and bustle that is campus life, this time as an upperclassman!

As a new season starts, readers, keep Fighting On!

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Summer Occupations ⟩
July 16, 2018, by Bethany

Life Hacks

It’s officially summer! And that means that the occupations that I engaged in as a student during the year have changed. I have taken on a little more work being a Student Ambassador for the Chan Division as well as working at the Office of Undergraduate Admission as an Ambassador and Tour Guide. But I also get to engage in my favorite occupations.

I have had more time to read (anything in the Fiction realm, from Fantasy to Mystery, being my favorite), watch movies (Ocean’s 8 is great), and try new restaurants and boba places with friends! And I’ve been able to spend more time with my family. We took a trip up to the mountains with my cousins, and I got to engage in the occupations of kayaking, playing a ridiculous amount of card games, and teaching my cousin to use SnapChat.

Summer occupations are awesome! It’s a chance to do more of what I love and try something new, too. With only one month left to go, I guess I’ll have to make the most of it.

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So Nice, I Graduated Twice ⟩
May 11, 2018, by Kaitlyn

Life Hacks What are OS/OT?

Channeling my inner Elle Woods, I first off want to squeal and tell my fellow class of 2018, “We did it!!!”

These past two years have been such a whirlwind, and I’ve had so many highlights that I know I’ll remember for a long time. I’ve stood in front of and presented to the largest crowds I’ve ever spoken to (upwards of 200+ individuals at a time), attended 5 conferences under scholarship across numerous cities and states, went on a Eurotrip with some of my best friends in the program, lived across the Pacific Ocean for three months (the longest I’ve ever been away from home, my friends, and my family), and learned about what it means to be the best occupational therapist I can be. Interspersed in these bigger events, life bestowed upon me lessons about myself, people, and life in general. I’ve learned and grown so much not only as an aspiring OT, but also as a person.

Looking back on my experience in graduate school, these are a few things I would tell (and remind) myself. If you’re thinking about going to OT school as well, it may be helpful for you too:

Relax and do your best. You will be fine. | Work hard and do your best obviously, but don’t stress out too much about it. That 1 point you got off a test or assignment will not matter 20 years from now.

The power of influence (both good and bad) | You will meet so many people who you both will inspire and be inspired by. For the people you are inspired by, choose wisely. For the people you inspire, make sure you not only say what you mean, but live it out too. People are always watching, and what you do trumps what you say every time.

Remember your core values and live accordingly. | You will make a core values checklist during your first semester in the program. Look at it often. Are you living in a fashion that is congruent with what you believe?

Get to know the people around you and create meaningful relationships with them. | Again, you will meet so many different people. Get to know your peers, colleagues, friends, mentors, clinical instructors, and so on, on a deeper and more meaningful level. This life is about creating meaningful relationships.

Walk through doors that open up for you and take opportunities that fall into your lap. | Trust me, it will happen and it might even be a little scary. Everything happens for a reason!

Always remember the big picture. | You are in school because you want to positively change people’s lives and help them live life to its fullest. This is always the goal. 

Remember to take care of yourself, have fun, and live your best life! | True: school is going to take up a huge chunk of your life. Also true: remember to live YOUR life too. 

I recognize there is absolutely no way I could have gone through graduate school alone. I am so thankful for Kimberly Kho and the Admissions team for providing guidance and support professionally and personally, my amazing Student Ambassador team (Ali, Erika, Caroline, Linah, and Bryan) for being the best group of people I could’ve ever asked to work with and for making what we do that much more fun and rewarding, the OTAC Student Delegate council for connecting me with OT throughout the entire state of California, OTSC Executive Board for being such an inspiring group of leaders, crazy Cohort C for being the most fun classmates to go through the program with, the Division’s faculty for always going above and beyond what is expected inside and outside of the classroom, and of course, my incredible and loving family and friends for helping me up through the lowest days and for walking alongside me during the happiest ones.

Thank you again USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy. What a journey it’s been, and I can’t wait to see where life takes me next.

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After Graduation: Now What? ⟩
March 19, 2018, by Linah

Admissions Life Hacks What are OS/OT?

Start practicing or further your degree?

NBCOT, OTED, OPT, HIJKLMNOP . . .
As many already know, the NBCOT is the national board exam for occupational therapy. In other words, in order to get licensed as an occupational therapist in the US, passing this test is a requirement. Luckily, USC Chan Division prepares its students well for it by requiring them to sit for the comprehensive exam at the end of the master’s degree. During this exam all the information related to OT is tested, and this serves as an adequate rehearsal for the NBCOT. The method works evident by how USC has maintained a passing rate among students as high as 99%! This option is not limited to US citizens. International students can take advantage of the OPT (Optional Practical Training) year that their F-1 student visa allows, get licensed, and practice OT in the US, too. 

In order for an international student to sit for the NBCOT, they would need to go through OTED first. The Occupational Therapist Eligibility Determination (OTED) process requires a few documents that are better brought from back home. Documents like detailed syllabi for each course studied during undergrad, official transcripts, a letter from the undergrad’s program director acknowledging the student’s attendance, and more. The full list of requirements can be found here. All I am saying is, if you’re an international student planning to take advantage of your OPT then better start early (even before starting your post-professional masters) to collect all the required documents. Many of which would be much easier to attain while you’re still in your home country.

OTD vs PhD
Here’s the breakdown: an OTD is generally 2 years long, clinical based, and prepares students to be faculty members and clinicians. It mainly focuses on preparing students to be leaders for the profession. It is a doctoral level degree recognized in the US, however it is yet to be recognized as so in other countries where this degree does not exist yet. It is a great option for those who plan to work in faculty positions that allow clinical practice. The OTD prepares students to be administrative leaders and helps them specialize in emerging clinical fields in OT.

The PhD on the other hand lasts about 4 to 5 years on average, research based, and prepares students to be researchers in the field. This PhD program in USC is literally the first ever PhD in occupational science, and it is fully funded. This means it does not require a tuition, and offers a monthly stipend to its candidates.

Thankfully, being a master’s student in USC offers numerous opportunities to explore one’s interests. This includes visiting clinical sites, volunteering in research labs, and even sitting down with some respectable names in occupational science research who just happen to be part of our faculty!

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Shadow, Chance, Sassy ⟩
February 13, 2018, by Bryan

Life Hacks What are OS/OT?

One of my favorite movies growing up was Homeward Bound (I think it is on Netflix). In the movie the owner of three household pets, two dogs and one cat, gets married and begins a new job in San Francisco, CA. As the owner relocates, he leaves his three companions on a ranch with extended family to take care of them. Drama unfolds, however, as Chance, a disobedient American Bulldog, begins to entertain the idea that they have been collectively abandoned to reside on this ranch till dog heaven. As the film progresses, both Shadow, the older and wiser Golden Retriever (I also named my first dog shadow!), and Sassy, a Himalayan cat, also begin to grow worrisome regarding the status of their owners.

From there, the three animals go on a rollercoaster journey, venturing into the thick of the Sierra Nevadas, following their instincts in a search for “home.” They encounter waterfalls, grizzly bears, porcupines, even incurring a few injuries along the way. Throughout it all, they they learn to band together through obstacles, trying to find their family.

Throughout this week, I have been thinking about Homeward Bound, dogs, and what gives a place meaning. I guess from an early age the idea of “home” fascinated me (as well as the love for dogs). Within our fast-paced culture driven by career changes from company to company, shifting communities, and wanderlust travels, I feel like home could easily get lost in experiences.

For one of our readings in OT 545: Advanced Seminar in Occupational Science, we read an article written by Ruth Zemke, one of our leaders in occupational science, who called for occupational therapists to consider what transforms a “space” into a “place” (Zemke, 2004). Zemke illuminates the distinction between a space and the unique meaning required to reinvision it into a place.

What are the important places in my life? What are the meaningful places in my patients’ lives? What makes a house a home?

As I sprint into halfway through my final semester of the entry-level master’s program here in the Chan Division, I am learning to reap the fruits of our curriculum emphasizing not only the clinical knowledge and therapeutic intervention as part of our patients’ recovery, but also the mindfulness and reflective thinking to understand them throughout that process. We as occupational therapists are gifted an opportune season in a person’s life in which life roles, physical abilities, and considerations of meaningful occupations might be transitioning, oftentimes starkly. Within these unstable moments, our reflections on an often ephemeral view of home might be the very incitation for us to take that next step forward. Maybe our therapy gyms or even hospital rooms can feel like much more than just space.

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