Student Blog
Living in LA

Adventures in baking ⟩
February 24, 2014, by Rob

Life Hacks Living in LA

I recently had the opportunity to do some hiking and baking the same day, combining two of my favorite occupations. We started off driving up north of Pasadena to Eaton Canyon, a beautiful waterfall hike not too far from the city. The path was jammed with families, school trips, and people out to enjoy the weather and scenery. Fortunately, we know a little secret cutoff that takes hikers above the first falls and away from the crowds.

To get there is a little intense (read: FUN!). I mean, my frontal lobe is mostly developed, right? So I would be scared if there was real danger and I should exhibit good judgment (I just hope my mom isn’t reading this). We scaled a rocky area and edged along the cliff (see picture) to get to the next leg, which involved rock jumping along a stream bed, my favorite part. The reward was a deserted pool of clear, cold mountain water. Of course we jumped in!

That afternoon we baked double chocolate cookies stuffed with salted caramel, both made from scratch. I love to bake — it is a very therapeutic activity — and I’ve found that as I do it more and more, I get better at improvising. We mostly followed a recipe for this one and they were tasty. It was probably the best double chocolate chunk cookie dough I have eaten. I don’t usually eat the dough, but I snacked on this one the whole time! Try it out and share a favorite baking recipe with me if you have one . . .

⋯

USC OTs in Vegas! ⟩
February 14, 2014, by Clarissa

Community Living in LA School/Life Balance

As promised, I’m updating about USC OT’s annual Vegas trip!  As the second year social chair of the Occupational Therapy and Science Council (OTSC), I planned our trip with my first year co-chair Kristin. The planning process started 2 months before our trip and, let me tell you, coordinating for 30 people isn’t easy but it was all so worth it!

We got rooms all on the same floor, which was great for meeting up before heading out to the clubs. With the excellent girl to guy ratio in our classes, we had no trouble getting into the nightclubs XS and Light for free on both Friday and Saturday nights. During our down time, some of our classmates went hiking (much admiration to them), ate delicious food at the Wynn buffet, and just slept in preparation for the coming night’s festivities.

It was such a fun trip, filled with late night bonding time, pillow fights, 5-hour meals at buffets, a legendary story with a wheelchair and transfer involved, and dancing!

My favorite part of being social chair is having events like this to get to know my classmates outside of class and also to build a relationship with the first years! Making these memories with my peers makes me love my time in the program that much more. OTs are such a fun crowd!

Here’s a picture of a group of us the second night!

⋯

Spring is in the air ⟩
January 21, 2014, by Rob

Classes Externships International Living in LA

Spring is in the air. Not just Spring semester, but the feel of Spring. An unseasonable warm period has flowers blooming, students wearing shorts, and the ants at my house on the prowl. If you live anywhere east of California, I’m sorry. I know it’s cold. My parents in Chicago sent me pictures from when the daily high was not getting above 0 degrees. That’s not normal even for Chicago.

I’ll tell you, it makes me even happier to be in southern California!

Spring is in the air. In a few short weeks, I will be leaving for Ireland for our Leadership Externship. The experience is a student-organized two-week externship, which means it can be whatever you want it to be. Some of us are going internationally and many more are staying within the United States. For me, I wanted to get more education experience and see how occupational therapy and disability are taught in another country. I’m going to be at the University College Cork for the two weeks and then I’ll have part of Spring Break to explore the country on my own.

Plus, they have a juggling team!

Our final semester is focused on electives, giving students a chance to focus on one or several areas that they find interesting. I have three general areas of interest: education, disability studies, and older adults. For the first two, I’m working on independent studies focused on teaching pedagogy and disability education in occupational therapy. My other electives are Universal Design and a course on housing and older adults through the Davis School of Gerontology.

All in all, it promises to be a fun semester.

⋯

Holiday Break Balance ⟩
January 10, 2014, by Jen

Living in LA School/Life Balance

With almost 4 weeks off from classes, I made sure to catch up on some much needed rest and relaxation. I spent the beginning of the holiday break in my hometown in the bay area. I was able to catch up with friends and families as well as engage in some of my favorite occupations: hiking, playing with my dog, and eating. After spending time in Northern California, I flew down to visit more of my family in San Diego. It did not feel like winter in San Diego’s 70-80 degree weather and I enjoyed every moment of my time there. For New Year’s Day, I went to the Rose Parade in Pasadena. I had never been before, but because I now live in Los Angeles it made it very easy (and fun) to attend. One of my favorite floats was the Cal Poly Universities Float (although I am a little biased since I attended Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo for undergrad). The float, titled “Bedtime Buccaneers”, won the Crown City Innovation Trophy. I was very proud of the work they did. Since the New Year, I’ve been spending time with friends and preparing to return to school. My break was full of balance which is one of the most important things to have.

⋯

It’s Winter Break Time!!! ⟩
December 18, 2013, by Ryan

Living in LA School/Life Balance

Well, finals are over and it is time to relax . . . and I mean relax. I had a final on Thursday so that afternoon I went to get my nails done with a friend of mine. It was just what I wanted, something relaxing. And I never treat myself like that. I usually do it myself. It was great! I felt relaxed and had some great girl bonding time.

Then after our last big final on Monday, a bunch of us went to brunch and celebrated the end of our fall semester. I can’t believe I only have one more left! We had a blast! The restaurant was empty (because it was 12:30pm on a Monday) so we would rotate seats around the large rectangular table so we could all talk and catch up after the crazy busy 2 weeks we just had.

And yesterday I went on a hike in the Pacific Palisades, up Temescal Canyon. It was a beautiful day and does not feel like Christmas is just next week. After the hike, we all got frozen yogurt and ended the day playing Balderdash at a friend’s house. So, I would say my vacation so far is going great!

⋯