Student Blog
Life Hacks

Looking Beyond ⟩
May 13, 2020, by Marilyn

Life Hacks What are OS/OT?

On April 22nd, I woke up feeling the usual stress of a graduate student during the “Stay at Home order.” My dad greeted me with a small envelope, which left me perplexed and confused. This envelope was addressed to me in my handwriting. What could this be? I opened the envelope and revealed a handwritten letter that I wrote to myself in Fall 2018 on 11/26/18 in the OT 511 Therapeutic Use of Self Course. It was 1st year OT Grad student Marilyn. You see, Dr. Kristin Nxumalo instructed the class to write a letter to ourselves that would be mailed to us closer to graduation day.

Upon opening the letter, I did not know what to expect, but the first line stated, “You made it to graduation day!” I immediately had a flashback of sitting next to my peers in class as we engaged in this activity. I had no idea of the power of my words until I read the letter. It gave me hope and strength to carry on studying for the comprehensive exam that I took this morning.

In my letter, I wrote “I pray that you are feeling peace at this moment knowing that you’ve made it this far! There is nothing that you cannot do, nothing that you cannot conquer because God makes the impossible possible. I’m not sure what you have lost within these past two years as you’ve sacrificed plenty to get to this point but remain present in the moment. Celebrate this milestone with your loved ones because you deserve it. Moving forward remember to find balance in your personal and professional life. Do not compromise your character currency for no one or nothing. Speak honestly, think with sincerity, and act with integrity. Now give your parents a big hug and tell them congrats! Your successes are not your own. Remember the village that helped you make it this far because they continue to spur you towards your goals” . . . Live out your God given purpose!

As I re-read this letter at the end of taking the comprehensive exam this morning, I immediately asked my husband and parents for a giant hug. There were many times throughout my master’s educational journey that I allowed fear, failure, hopelessness, or unmet expectations to become my primary focus. However, I have been reminded by my loved ones and mentors to redirect my focus right back where it belongs — on my faith and passion for being of service to others. 

Moving forward letter writing will be an activity that I will continue to practice. I will continue to act on my plans and visions but will remain open to new opportunities. I will trust in my abilities and make sure to increase access and decrease barriers for marginalized communities. I will move on to complete my summer level 2 fieldwork at the USC Occupational Faculty Practice under the supervision of Dr. Ashley Halle. Lastly, but certainly not least, I will become Dr. Thompson as I will pursue my doctoral degree and complete my clinical residency in a primary care setting at Kaiser Permanente.

Thanks for reading my blogs this past year and I hope I have the opportunity to interact with you in the near future!

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The Trouble with Hello is Goodbye ⟩
May 13, 2020, by Japeth

Life Hacks What are OS/OT?

I have spent so much time just thinking about how to start this blog post. I do not exactly know what to say, where to begin, or how to turn my thoughts into words . . .

My experience at USC Chan has been amazing. It was a joy meeting new OT friends, learning from world-renowned researchers and experienced faculty, and awesome staff! Coming to USC I brought so many practical questions with me, as well as goals and target learning outcomes; and honestly, transitioning from being a practitioner to becoming a student again was quite a bit of an adjustment to me. But I thank the entire Chan community for creating a place where openness, passion, and compassion are intertwined; USC Chan felt like home to me and it will always be home to me.

To my favorite cohort — you all will always have a special place in my heart. Thank you for a fun year!! I enjoyed every moment with you guys, from attending classes to having random korean bbq dinners! Some of your homes became our homes too (shoutout to Raffy and Lin!!!!) and I will surely miss trying out different food that you guys bring to class! Also, thanks to Dr. Ochi for leading the cohort and for guiding us since day 1!!

To the amazing GI team — I have featured you in my previous blog posts and now I am featuring you again, and even if I were to write more blogs, I will never get tired of featuring you guys (cheesy I know LOL). It was a pleasure working with you all!! Your projects for Chan and for the international community are amazing.

To the best SA team — It was fun working with you in and outside of the office! Office hours did not feel long when we were at the office because you guys have so much to share and to talk about. To our boss, Kim, thank you for the opportunities you have given us! I will miss you, team!

To these fellow Trojans who made sure that I am well and safe when I first got here — thank you so much for checking in always! I remember your overflowing support when I first applied to USC and I felt your excitement when my dream finally turned into a reality. I am lucky to have you guys. 

To the Trojan friends I met outside of Chan Division — you guys made my year extra wonderful! I enjoyed every trip we did and every food we tried. I am proud to have friends like you who will surely become great researchers and health professionals!

To my friends from the MA2 program (especially Maggie, Calvin, and John Jae), and the OTD program (Michael, Emma, and Valentina) — You guys are awesome! Thanks for being an external source of happiness! I wish you good luck on your studies and professional careers!

USC Chan is a community where growth is fostered and a place where your potential is discovered. I am happy to be part of this community, now and forever. To everyone I met here, I will never regret exchanging our first hellos that led us to becoming lifelong friends. We may say goodbye for now, but I know we all can’t wait to say our next hellos.

I want to greet you all with “Mabuhay!”, a Filipino term that means “long live”. Mabuhay ka, USC (Long live, USC!) and Fight On, Trojans!

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Rocky Starts ⟩
May 6, 2020, by Noelle

Life Hacks

I recently revisited my journal because as I approach graduation and the beginning of a new chapter, I wanted to remind myself where I was when I started this one.

I did not start grad school the way I wanted to.  I was recovering from a difficult breakup, I wasn’t living with my long-term roommate anymore, my relationship with my parents was strained, and I just didn’t feel like I had the right energy going into the year.  On top of that, I was entering a class of people that had bonded over the summer and it was intimidating, even for an extrovert like me.  I have always prided myself on my resilience and adaptability, but it took me longer than I expected to adjust to all of the changes, and I wasn’t happy.

And then at some point, I had enough.  I realized I was putting way too much pressure on myself to have the perfect year and the resulting disappointment was a weight that was preventing me from fully enjoying the things that were going right.  So I let go.  I let go of the year I wanted and accepted the year I was having.  And while that didn’t change things over night, it was liberating.

This is not to say that I threw in the towel and gave up on having a good year. Quite the opposite.  By letting go of what I thought I wanted and needed, I was free to define my path as I walked it—to pursue unexpected opportunities, take risks, and better recover from setbacks.  I’m not going to lie, not having a definite destination was scary at times.  But I look at where my path has led me and it’s nothing I could have planned for or expected.  And it’s wonderful.

Looking ahead, I’m still not certain of the destination I am heading towards.  And for me that’s still a little scary, but also exciting.  These past two years have taught me that it’s ok not to have a perfect plan and stick to it.  There will be rocky starts and disappointments.  But if the past is any indicator of the future, there will also be many happy accidents, surprising victories, and unanticipated joy just around the corner.

So after endlessly scrolling through my playlists, I think I found the perfect song for this entry and for my final song recommendation.  “Sisyphus” by Andrew Bird.  Enjoy!

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Cheers to Trusting the Process till the End! ⟩
May 5, 2020, by Kat

Life Hacks

Exactly two years ago, I was notified I was accepted into the entry level masters program here at USC. It was not your typical acceptance though. I was waitlisted. I did not get to attend the Accepted Student Reception. I did not have much time before I had to give my two weeks notice for my full time job. During my time on the waitlist, I was stressed. Every morning I would wake up hoping to receive an email with good news. After I had received the email stating I was on the waitlist in February, I tried to stay positive. The Admissions team notified me that they do indeed use the waitlist and admit students. This gave me some hope, but as February, March, and April ended I was becoming pessimistic. But I told myself, “if it is meant for me, it will be.” I just had to trust the process.

As you can see . . . I was accepted!! Now came the next hurdle. I can relate to Kaho’s Blog Post about not feeling like I belonged in the program when I first started. I was battling between having just left a full time job, taking out loans to attend school, and finding it a bit difficult to find my own community within the program. I was not sure if I had made a mistake in coming to USC. I was starting to question how I would make it through my masters and finish it. I had to rely on my hard work and resilience. I just had to trust the process.

After opening myself up to my peers, seeking guidance from professors, and making myself known (see my previous post), I started to feel more at home. So much so that school became my second home. Acquaintances became classmates. Classmates became friends. And my friends are now my family. I could not have made it through my masters program without the support I received both in and outside of the classroom from my school friends and family. They have helped keep me accountable, flexible, and focused. They encouraged me, validated me, and reminded me why I started this journey. This is how I was able to make it through the #1 OT program in the nation! 50% hard work, 50% support. I doubted my ability to be successful at USC. But I found my community to help me make it through. I just had to trust the process.

This past semester was not the last semester of graduate school that I was anticipating. Some of my Externship opportunities were cancelled and others became remote. The last 6 weeks of class were online. And second year students recently found out that our second level 2 fieldwork will also be remote. Although this is disappointing and I am still in the process of grieving this loss of an in person fieldwork opportunity, I am once again trying to stay positive. These things have been out of everyone’s control. But the professors, staff, and fieldwork team have all been so supportive during this difficult time for students. I am not sure what this summer will bring. I will just have to continue trusting the process.

Class of 2020, we have come too far to give up. We are so close to the finish line. We need to continue relying on each other for encouragement. We need to keep pushing each other to be the best we can be. And most of all, we need to trust the process. Our hard work has brought us this far and it will continue to open doors for us.

Congratulations class of 2020! It was a pleasure being a student ambassador.

Fight On!!

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Dear Class of 2020 ⟩
April 29, 2020, by Marilyn

Life Hacks Videos

To all of the graduates of Class of 2020 or anyone who was about to be celebrated, but due to the pandemic things have changed — this is for you! I know at a certain point we had to grieve the change of an expectation due to things not going as planned (graduation, fieldwork, last day of class celebration with peers, etc.). However, I genuinely believe these changes are outside of our control, so we learned how to become flexible and developed the faith to trust the process. We have discovered the greatness of leaning on our village of family, peers, mentors, staff, and faculty now more than ever for support. And they have risen to the occasion!

As we move on to a different phase of life academically or professionally there will be moments that our highest accomplishments will not be celebrated or may go unnoticed, but that does not mean you didn’t accomplish it! If you ever forget how great you are, please remember how you were able to navigate this experience and you will remind yourself that you are prepared! If you are a prospective student or a student in the program I hope this video can show you how student life was like before COVID-19.

We will see each other soon!

FIGHT ON.

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