Student Blog
Living in LA

Dreams are our Reality ⟩
September 18, 2019, by Japeth

Diversity Getting Involved International Living in LA

As I previously mentioned, USC Chan really knows how to welcome each and every student. Everyone makes sure that students feel the warmth and excitement of the entire Chan Division. Another way of them welcoming the international students is the Annual Welcome party at the Program Director’s house! We are very lucky to be able to spend time together as a cohort, together with Dr. Sarah Bream, Dr. Daniel Park, Dr. Emily Ochi, and other OT students from the Global Initiatives.

It was kind enough of the faculty to prepare a bus ride, food (both meat and vegetarian!), desserts, and games! While Dr. Ochi was busy preparing the snacks and desserts and Dr. Park was also busy grilling the burger patties, the students from Global Initiatives made sure that we take time to get to know each other more and learn from everyone’s experiences. We played a game called “Two truths and a lie”. In this game, each of us needed to say two honest statements that pertain to ourselves and a lie that should really sound like an honest statement too! Here’s the catch: the more the lie sounds real, the more everyone gets confused, and of course the more the game gets exciting!

After the game, Dr. Park called us to go to the backyard to start eating! (I actually ate two vegetable patties and one meat patty, that’s how yummy they were!!) Now, I’m sure you are wondering how the title is connected to this content . . . hang on, were getting there! The highlight of this welcome bbq party, to me, was not just the yummy food or the games. It was the part where we had to write on a piece of paper, things about us and our dreams or wishes for this academic year. Most of us had a graduation wish among our three wishes. Of course, who doesn’t want to graduate, right? Almost all of us had the same wishes and it made us all feel even more connected with each other. Dr. Ochi and Dr. Park also shared their own work! All I can say is that both of them are genuine and caring occupational therapists that act not only as our mentors, but also our family away from home.

I am sure that after a year filled with fun and learning, our dreams will turn into our reality!

FIGHT ON!

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Let’s Eat! ⟩
September 11, 2019, by Kevin

Housing and Transportation Life Hacks Living in LA

For many of us living in LA or new to the area eating is one of our most cherished occupations. Last year on campus, I spent some quality time “researching” the best food on the HSC campus . . . so loosen up a notch on that belt and let’s eat.

Food Trucks
While they may not always be the healthiest option, the food trucks around campus offer some of the best local cuisine your money can buy! With a wide variety of options from gyros to burgers, there is something delicious for everyone’s taste. Personally, I visited the La Estrella truck every Tuesday to get some of the best pastor tacos and burritos I’ve ever had. If you plan to go to any of the food trucks during lunch, budget at least fifteen to thirty minutes of time because the lines grow quick. Additionally, some of the trucks have an extra card charge, so plan to bring cash.

Farmer’s Markets
There are two amazing farmer’s markets on/near campus every week that have some awesome food options that are both affordable and healthy! Every Tuesday, the Keck Farmers Market comes to the Health Science Campus and quickly became popular within our cohort. It’s a little bit of a walk, so grab a friend or two and plan for about a five minute walk each way. Despite the walk, the food is well worth the trek! If you miss this farmers market, don’t worry, several of the vendors also come to the Pappas Quad located near the Norris Medical Library on Wednesday or Thursday. Some of my favorites from the Farmer’s Market include giant spicy tuna sushi burritos, pita with hummus, and pupusas. Not only are the hot meals tasty, the farmers market offers a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. If you aren’t sold on the farmers market already . . . then you are about to be! The market offers a healthy community eating program called the Veggie Buck program that allows you to purchase a token to double your purchases of the fresh produce. Furthermore, any produce that does not sell by the end of the week is donated and distributed to families in the community.

On-Campus Dining
If those first two options aren’t your taste, then there are great options for eating on campus. If you are looking for a quick pick-me-up before class or during breaks, check out the Quench Juice Bar. Quench has great drinks and sandwiches if you are like me and forget to pack lunch. If you are looking for more options, then take a quick walk over to the Plaza Marketplace which has some more recognizable favorites such as Starbucks and Panda Express.

Want to take your campus dining up a notch? Then reserve a table at the only full-service restaurant on campus, The Edmondson, for a special occasion.

Off-Campus Dining
There are so many great food options in Los Angeles so explore!

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Festival of Books with USC’s President ⟩
April 22, 2019, by Serena

Getting Involved Living in LA

USC’s OT department went all out at this years annual Festival of Books event on USC’s main campus! We had many free educational, stress relieving, and fun-filled activities. We had stations where the public could create stress balls, scented lotion, and hot/cold packs. Occupational therapists from USC’s OT Faculty Practice were giving information on how to develop healthier eating and exercise habits. The USC Occupational Science research team was also giving out information on carpal tunnel. We even have an area where children were playing on the gym equipment or playing with the water beads, play dough, and moon sand! As you can probably imagine our booth was filled with people from all ages and interests. It was so great that even USC’s President, Dr. Wanda Austin, had to stop by and check out all of our stations.

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Refining My Leadership Skills — Externship In LA ⟩
April 3, 2019, by Melissa

Externships Living in LA

Hey everyone! I’m a bit late to the game, as I have yet to post about my externship experience, but this semester has just been so busy! Nonetheless, I wanted to talk to you guys about my decision to stay local for my externship, since the rest of the Ambassadors went abroad! I split my experience into 2 different opportunities, so read on for the specifics of each one!

Shadowing Dr. Katie Jordan at the Chan Division of USC

Dr. Katie Jordan is one of the coolest and most inspiring people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting during my time at USC. She embodies the type of leader that I aspire to be one day, therefore I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see how she manages to do it all. Before I go any further, I’m going to list out all of her roles (and I’ll probably miss some): she is a professor in our program, the Associate Chair of Clinical Occupational Therapy in the division, the Director of OT and Speech Therapy at Keck and Norris Hospitals, she works at AOTA on the Relative Value Scale Update Committee, and is the Co-Chair for OTAC’s Practice, Ethics, and Reimbursement Committee. She is also a mentor to residents going through the OTD program, as well as students like me that have an interest in advocacy. On top of all of that, she is an amazing mother and wife.

My interest in meeting with her started back when I was a first year in the program. Whenever I would meet with my mentor, Dr. Jordan’s name would inevitably come up as someone that I should get in touch with. For one reason or another, it never happened, therefore our leadership externship seemed like the perfect opportunity to do reach out and shadow her! I’m so glad that I did, because I learned so much during the short week I spent with her. I went to most of her meetings, got to listen to conference calls, and got to see what each of her roles really entail. It was amazing to see her transition in and out of each of her roles so flawlessly. No matter how crazy her schedule got, she always remained composed, which is something I admired. She speaks with authority but isn’t rude, and represents our profession really well. She is incredibly knowledgeable on all things OT — even on things we all wish weren’t a part of our jobs like dealing with billing and Medicare — and has a great ability of explaining things in a way that’s easy to understand.

Shadowing Dr. Jordan taught me about where we can go as OTs as far as leadership goes, but I also learned a lot about the intricacies of her roles, and what it’s like working with large groups of medical professionals that may have differing thoughts on various issues.

Shadowing Terri Nishimura, CEO of Pediatric Therapy Network

I met Terri Nishimura when she was part of a Leadership Panel for our Capstone course this Spring. During the panel, she was very vocal about our responsibility to advocate for our profession, and how becoming politically involved is also really important. As someone who has stayed away from politics for the last couple of years, this was hard for me to accept. However, she made a compelling argument. As the CEO of a non-profit organization, the services she’s able to provide and the funding for those services are all impacted by legislation. Although our state and national organizations do a great job of trying to keep up with all of the political changes that are occurring and advocating for our profession, it is still important for us to be involved as well.

She gave the example of how decades ago, she started a friendship with one of the councilmembers in Torrance (which is where PTN is located). Over the years, he kept advancing in the political world, until he became one of our state senators. There was a bill that was threatening the services OTs could bill for in pediatrics, so she reached out to him and asked that he not only not vote for that bill, but that he help to educate the other senators on the reasons why passing this bill would have negative implications for OT. He happily did so because of their established relationship, and fortunately that bill didn’t pass. She stressed that advocacy isn’t a one-and-done situation, but that we have to put in the time to develop strategic relationships. This story was really impactful for me, because I hadn’t given much thought to what we could do, therefore I was eager to learn more. I approached her after class to ask if she’d be willing to host me for the second half of my externship, and she happily accepted!

During my time with Terri, I got to learn a lot about what it’s like to be a CEO, as well as a leader in the pediatric community. I got to help Terri plan for a legislative reception for OTAC, where I got to meet with many OTs that hold leadership positions within OTAC! I learned who my local, state, and federal representatives are, and how to find that information if I ever need it. Before this experience, I felt like the world of politics was just something I did not want to get involved in. Even if I did, i felt like I wouldn’t know where to start. Thanks to Terri’s guidance, I now have a much better understanding of what we can do and how to do it.

Ultimately, there are pros and cons to going abroad and staying local for our externships. Going abroad can be expensive, but we get the opportunity to see what occupational therapy and healthcare look like in different countries! Staying in LA is not nearly as enticing as going abroad, but the connections you make are hopefully some that will last for a lifetime, and can help you when you’re venturing out into the real world as a new grad! In the end, the choice is up to you, but just keep in mind that there are plenty of wonderful opportunities no matter where you go.

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It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood ⟩
January 28, 2019, by Evan

Living in LA

I’m a proud resident of Santa Monica, CA. Whatever inconvenience it is commuting 45 minutes to school, for me it is worth the quality of life I am afforded on weekends where I spend most of my time walking about in the neighborhood with family. Many students find it most convenient to live near health science campus or USC main campus, and I think this is a great option particularly for those new to LA, but I was living in Santa Monica before grad school and am grateful I didn’t have to move when I started.

It’s amazing how much where you live can influence occupation. Is it a walking neighborhood? Near the beach or good hiking trails? Near art museums and restaurants? My life is certainly influenced by my home and neighborhood, and I’d have to say that my current favorite occupation is watching the sunset from our roof. Where will you live when you move to LA and start the Master’s program? The possibilities are endless.

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