Student Blog
Life Hacks

The Benefits of Remote Learning ⟩
June 8, 2020, by Savi

Life Hacks

Pursuing my Entry-Level Professional Master of Arts Degree at USC in the Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy has provided me with a plethora of opportunities to grow as a student and as a future OT. I have been challenged by the curriculum, by my peers, and by my professors to think outside of the box and develop innovative ways to overcome a variety of barriers and challenges. Out of all these challenges, one of the biggest was transitioning our curriculum to remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As many who know me would agree, I am not particularly tech-savvy, I am an extremely hands-on learner, and I thrive in social settings. For those reasons, the transition to remote learning seemed somewhat daunting to me. In order to overcome the frustration and fear I had, I decided to develop a list of the benefits of remote learning that I discovered over the last few months. This helped me focus on the positive aspects of remote learning and find the motivation to overcome the hurdles I faced in order to succeed both academically and socially under the circumstances.

For those of you reading this who are about to start their first semester with us at USC in the Chan Division, I know that this is not the same beginning you might have envisioned. For many, that may be frustrating and sad and for some, this may be great news! Whatever you are feeling is valid and I wanted to provide you with the list of the positive aspects I have discovered about taking my courses remotely. I hope that these help you to better enjoy your first semester with us! To those of you already in the program, I hope that this list also helps you if you ever feel like you’re viewing these circumstances in an extremely negative light. On that note . . . here comes my list!

The Benefits of Remote Learning:

1. No commute: You can roll right out of bed and into class, plus you can wear your pajamas to school!
2. Creativity Boost: As an OT, the number one skill we utilize is creativity. Transitioning to an online format has challenged us to become more creative. Whether that is altering an in-person group therapy session to fit a video conference format, discovering the best way to present a group research paper to our class online, or discovering occupations to utilize during, in between or before class that help us sustain engagement in class, we will all become more well-rounded OTs because of these experiences.
3. A better understanding of who your professors are outside of the classroom: I know what you might be thinking . . . how would you get to know someone better through a virtual format than you would in person? Great question! This was the first time I got to see some of my professors and other faculty outside of a true classroom setting. I was able to meet my professors’ family members, animals, and friends and see them in their “comfy clothes” during our one-on-one meetings. These experiences made them even more relatable than before!
4. Greater access to office hours: Because I no longer have to travel to school to meet with my professors, I can meet with them ANY TIME! While on campus my professors would make themselves extremely accessible. Now that neither of us has to commute, it has become easier to squeeze in more meetings throughout the day.
5. Building relationships with other faculty in the division: Shout out to IT Helpdesk and A/V Technician David Xie, Webmaster Paul Bailey, and the rest of the IT team for helping me overcome the many hurdles I have faced as a student who is not tech-savvy.
6. Hearing from more students in your class: Because students can utilize both the chat and the unmute feature, more students can respond to a question posed by the professor during class. Although there is limited time to hear from students during lectures, the chat feature allows for an unlimited amount of responses. This has given me the opportunity to learn from a lot of my classmates’ opinions and experiences.
7. Enjoying yoga, meditation, or even a quick nap during a class break! I promise these are very revitalizing occupations, so I urge you to take advantage of them while you can.

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A Semester Like No Other ⟩
May 31, 2020, by Lamoni

Classes Life Hacks

As we all know, COVID-19 has changed a lot of things. That includes our program. It was quite a surprise for us all when we left for spring break and were told that we would not be returning. Everything happened so quickly. A friend from home was supposed to visit but decided to cancel their flight one day before their arrival. A few days later, I received an email that encouraged everyone to leave campus. That same night, my dad told me that I needed to come home and a flight was booked for the next day. While that was a whirlwind, I packed up all of my things with the belief that I would return next month. Most of my belongings, including my car, stayed in Los Angeles while I headed home.

Slowly, reality sunk in and USC announced that we were moving to remote learning. That meant that instead of taking the shuttle to campus, I would be taking all of my classes in my room. The joy and laughter that I once shared with my classmates would now be contained behind a computer screen. Rather quickly, within the first week of online classes, my eyes felt strained and my back started to hurt. I wasn’t prepared to take classes this way. I also began having trouble staying organized. Something about walking to another classroom helped me to sort my courses and organize my thoughts. Changing Zoom links didn’t do that for me. My research moved online too. So did the student organizations that I am a part of. Then, celebrations like birthday parties were online as well. It was a strange feeling because, though I no longer had to commute anywhere, I felt like I was just barely keeping up. On top of that, I now live in a different time zone and have to constantly remind myself that the meeting scheduled for 5PM is actually 7:00.

We’ve now started our full semester of remote learning — a complete load of five courses online for an entire 11 weeks! But I will not be taken off guard this time; I have prepped. Here are some things that are working for me: I have finally begun using Google Calendar (I have no idea how I’ve gone without it). Google Calendar allows me to use multiple time zones. For me, that means that it shows my schedule in both Pacific Time and Central Time. Additionally, it syncs with my computer’s calendar which syncs to my phone which syncs to my watch. And, just in case digital reminders aren’t enough, I also have a whiteboard calendar and a planner. In times like this, you have to cover all grounds. For seating, I have a designated small pillow for my lower back. For my eyes, I have blue light glasses. For energy, I keep a jar of trail mix on my desk. My watch also gives me reminders to stand and I use those reminders for stretch breaks. During class breaks or lunch break, I try to take a step outside to breathe in some fresh air. When classes are over for the day, instead of delving into homework or assignments right away, I give my eyes another break. Typically, I will either read for pleasure or exercise in my backyard.

This semester is different, therefore it requires a lot of adaptations and modifications. But, we’re OTs. We got this!

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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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