Student Blog
Living in LA

What I Miss on Campus ⟩
December 2, 2020, by Bethany

Living in LA

Now that I’m back home, I find myself often reminiscing about my home away from home. I spent three years on the University Park Campus (UPC) and a fourth year commuting between UPC and the Health Science Campus (HSC), and now I miss both of them. Some places, though, bring back more memories than others. Here are a few of the places I miss going to:

Tommy’s Place
Hidden in the basement of the Tutor Campus Center on UPC, this chill little hideaway is where the pool tables are. I played a few games with friends, and although I’m not that great of a player, I still had a lot of fun. Tommy’s Place is also where the flute section members who had stayed home would gather on away game days to watch the game together.

Adult Rehab Lab
Adult Physical Rehabilitation was one of my first classes in the Master’s Program. Inside the Rehab Lab, I had some of the most physically challenging OT experiences. We worked with standardized patients to help us learn how to best position ourselves to get our clients up and walking after a hip replacement. We also made hand splints. This past semester, I got to enjoy seeing Instagram stories of my friends who are in Adult Physical Rehab go to the lab in masks and face shields to learn how to do transfers to wheelchairs or how to put on a gait belt.

Cromwell Field
From freshman to senior year, I spent so much of my fall semester on Cromwell Field practicing shows. After a long day of classes, I’d run to practice, pull out my piccolo, and play and de-stress. I may have given myself some minor hearing damage (Note to self: use earplugs with a piccolo!), but it was worth it. There’s nothing like saluting the real, live Traveler with “Conquest.” Or running through one last set and realizing Alan Silvestri is there. At your 7am practice. Conducting the finale of the Marvel show. The 2019 Flute Seniors also made a pyramid during band camp. Unforgettable memories.

Bookstore at HSC
It’s a small little store, tucked away in the corner by the food court on the Health Science Campus. But the best part about it: they have OT gear! Get hats, license plate frames, mugs, the whole shebang representing the Division and OT. Sure, the UPC Bookstore may have a Sprinkles Cupcake ATM, but it’s at the HSC Bookstore that you can buy the best gear (Though, I have to admit, this statement is slightly biased).

The Great Lawn
Located in the USC Village, the Great Lawn is conveniently right behind Trader Joe’s. On those nice spring days that aren’t too hot or too cold, where you can see the blue sky above the trees, you’ll find many people sitting out on the lawn to play spike ball or just talk. I have enjoyed a great many picnics out on the Great Lawn, including one where a friendly dog came by and made us throw a frisbee. Multiple times. My own dog preferers belly rubs and napping to catching frisbees, so it was a nice change of pace.

Keck Cafeteria
During lunch, my friend and I would always head over to the cafeteria. They make some amazing, decently-priced quesadillas and wraps. So we would often head over on days where I had not packed a lunch. Another friend of mine took classes nearby and would occasionally meet us there for lunch to talk about life and classes. The cafeteria was a great place to take a break and enjoy some good eats, as well!

Mt. McCarthy
There is a well-known quad right outside of Leavey Library called McCarthy Quad, the center of many school events and our weekly farmer’s market. And right next to this quad, is a hill: the highest point of elevation on the University Park Campus. Many students study, hammock, or both in the shade of the trees. It’s a great spot to get together for lunch with friends, and it’s right next to the weekly farmer’s market.

Coming back to all of these memories of campus is bittersweet. I miss being on campus. I miss being in each of these places. I miss spending time with people I care about. But for now, it’s enough to reminisce and meet up on Zoom. And hopefully, once things open back up, then, reader, you’ll have some ideas on how to make new memories.

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Meaningful Occupations in the Reinberg-Rivera-Ritter Household ⟩
November 12, 2020, by Liz

Life Hacks Living in LA

As OT students it’s so easy to get caught up with work, class assignments, and other responsibilities. It’s so easy that we forget how important it is to take care of ourselves and take some time to engage in meaningful occupations! This year I have had the pleasure of living with two of my best friends, Lorelei and Renee. Over the course of being in this program, we’ve really gotten to know each other. I don’t know what I would do without them! I thought it would be cool to share some pictures of some of the meaningful occupations we’ve been engaging in to relieve some stress and spend some time together as a family.

Renee just recently got a sewing machine, and so of course Lorelei put her to work! Here she is attempting to professionally hem Lorelei’s skirt. So yes, we now have our very own seamstress in the house! The only downside is that her work may take more than 10 business days to complete.

As a kid, I used to love playing outside with my friends. Whenever I think about my childhood I think about running around the apartment complex and racing around in scooters with my friends. My elementary school used to have a thing called AR (not sure if that is still a thing), in which we would have to accumulate a certain number of points by reading books. I really did not like reading books as a kid because I loved being outside playing with my neighbors. As I got older reading became more enjoyable of course. So, now I have decided to read the entire Harry Potter series, which I never read as a kid!

Here’s Renee taking a little study break. We started working on a 1,000 piece puzzle as a household, but I have to admit most of the work was done by Lorelei and Renee. There are way too many shades of blue, green, and white in there. I did cheer them on from the couch, though!

One of the most beautiful parts of living in East Los Angeles — delicious food everywhere! I woke up early before class to buy us some tamales so we could enjoy a little breakfast. Yum!

And lastly, here we are enjoying a little paint night! Lorelei was painting something for her mom, I was painting a gift for my little sister’s birthday, and Renee was painting something for her room. We were playing holiday music because both Renee and Lorelei will be going back to the east coast for the holidays. And Maxy is supervising of course.

These pictures bring me so much joy! I am so lucky to have the best roomies in the world. As an OT student in our program you can expect to receive a great education and learn from some of the best OTs out there. But, you can also expect to develop beautiful friendships with some amazing people!

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A Little Piece of Normalcy ⟩
August 10, 2020, by Liz

Living in LA

The end of the summer semester is finally here, which means ahhhh it’s time for finals! It has been a rollercoaster ride switching to remote learning and adjusting to the changes that had to be made to our school curriculum. As wonderful as it is to learn from home and wear pajamas all day, there’s so much that I miss from being back on campus. My friends have been at the top of my “what I miss the most about being on campus” list.

As I previously shared with you all, after switching to remote learning I temporarily moved back home with my family in Santa Ana. Prior to all the changes made, my friends and I were lucky enough to find a unit that had enough space for the four of us to live together — our dream come true! Although we were really excited about finally getting the chance to be roomies, two of my friends went back home out of state and didn’t know if it would be the best idea to move back given that there was a chance a lot of what we would be doing would be done online.

After much thinking, they decided to move back to LA and we were able to continue on as planned! The main reason we decided to move forward with our plan was because we were all struggling to stay focused and get academic work done back home. When living close to campus there’s so many places to study like coffee shops, the library, or even outside on the patio. But with stay at home orders and trying to contribute towards getting everyone safe, those spaces where we were all able to focus and get work done were no longer accessible. So, moving back to LA with people who are working towards the same goal makes it a little easier to stay focused and get work done. I should mention that in order to keep everyone safe, we all decided to schedule COVID-19 tests to make sure we were okay before getting too comfortable with each other. Fortunately, we are all healthy and happy to be living under the same roof!

The move was stressful to say the least, and we had to switch gears and get into study mode. Although we’ve spent about 80% of our time studying and working on getting final projects turned in, we’ve made a little time to have some fun. Here’s a little bit of what I’ve done this past week:

Although it’s been stressful getting settled in and starting finals week I am so excited that I get to end the summer studying with my favorite study buddies. I also wanted to share that even though it’s important to make time for studying and getting school work done, getting some time in for yourself and taking a break is just as important. Stay tuned to see how we transform our apartment into the perfect study space!

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Discovering Two New Occupations in the Midst of Challenges ⟩
July 29, 2020, by Nmachi

Life Hacks Living in LA

About two weeks ago, my sister and I were doing our usual quarantine morning workout routine: high intensity interval training (HIIT), abs, and lower body focus. Since we had been frequently exercising indoors, we decided to take a walk around the neighborhood to get some fresh air after the workout. Once we walked out the front door, we instantly knew that we made a great decision. The sun was shining, the air was cool, and the atmosphere was very peaceful.

After walking twice around while listening to music, we began talking about how much we needed that walk. It was something that was very simple but ended up lifting our moods and altering the trajectory of our day. We became more and more engulfed in our positive thoughts on the walk that we came up with the most genius idea of all time: watching a sunrise at the beach! It dawned on me that I had never been to the beach in the early morning to watch a sunrise. Because I’ve lived in Long Beach, CA my whole life, I tend to take my proximity to beaches for granted. Going on a morning beach adventure was the perfect way to take advantage of the benefits of living in SoCal!

Something to note is that my family and I are not the type of people to plan things on a whim. The fact that my sister and I thought of doing something new and actually did it the following morning was a big deal for us. While at the beach, we laid out on the sand, read books, and watched the changing beauty in the sky. It was magical but so simple. Since we arrived very early in the morning, there were barely any people around. This allowed us to truly relax and listen to the sounds of the ocean without distraction.

Going to the beach was the activity we needed in order to get the adventurous ball rolling, if you will. Since we had such a great time being outdoors, we brainstormed other activities to do that would require us to visit and explore different locations. My sister remembered that a family friend had recently gone hiking, so we decided to try out the same trail she went on. It was my first real experience hiking, and I loved it! We felt amazing afterwards and made plans to try out another hike near my other sister’s apartment. This hike was a bit more challenging but equally rewarding. The two hiking trips were amazing and had incredible views!

The main lesson that I learned from these experiences is that it is KEY to get out of the house, especially during this stressful time (while always wearing a mask and practicing social distancing). It’s safe to say that COVID brought many challenges and stressors to people’s lives. Personally, I have been dealing with the struggles of not being able to physically be on campus this upcoming semester. Having to do all my classes and hang outs with friends virtually has its pros and cons, and I know that many other people are going through similar conflicts. Despite having these negative feelings, I pushed myself to get outside of my comfort zone. Through this, I was able to discover two brand new occupations that I will begin to incorporate into my daily life from now on!

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3D-Printed Masks for Healthcare Professionals ⟩
April 9, 2020, by Kevin

Living in LA What are OS/OT?

As news of personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages continue to spread in coronavirus hotspot areas, grassroots movements of makers have sprung up all over the country. Teams of people are collaborating virtually to help mitigate the shortage in PPE for healthcare professionals/frontline workers. Additionally, as recent recommendations have been put in place for citizens to wear some type of face covering when out in the community, people are getting creative with new ways to create face coverings. For instance, within the Chan Division community the USC Occupational Therapy and Science Council (OTSC) arranged a crafting night for Chan students and faculty to virtually socialize and create face covering from everyday materials that people can find in their homes! Additionally, efforts have been made by the larger USC community to combat the supply shortage.

Within the USC community and Los Angeles Area, a group of currently over 130 members have assembled virtually to create PPE. Last week, I joined this effort after speaking to USC Chan faculty member Sook-Lei Liew PhD, OTR/L, who is currently 3D-printing masks and face shields. The community is made up of sewers, makers, prop artists, and many other creative and talented people who have the common goal to support the people who are risking their own health to save the lives of others. If you would like to know more about this effort to create PPE, you can read more about one of the communities’ founders and organizers, Darryl Hwang, PhD in HSC News. As a member of this community, I am using my home 3D-printers to print masks and eventually face shields. These masks and face shields will be used in the event that PPE shortages occur in the local healthcare facilities. While my involvement is small, with the help of many people, we can help make a difference in our community.

Within all the hardship this pandemic brings, communities of people working together remind me that love, kindness, and cooperation make everything a little better. I’m proud to be involved in such a community at USC. Fight On!

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