Student Blog
Videos

Humans of USC Chan Volume 1 ⟩
September 21, 2020, by Calvin

Classes Diversity Videos What are OS/OT?

When I was applying to OT school, I remember that I really wanted to get different student perspectives on what programs were like and how they navigated graduate school. As a student ambassador, I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to share my experiences with all of you, but I know that there are so many other extraordinary voices in the division too!

So, I gathered some second-year Entry-Level Master’s students to come and talk about what their OT school experiences have been like so far! We went over topics related to what kind of OT they’re interested in, what their favorite classes and memories are, and what challenges they’ve faced. They even shared some advice for all of you thinking about applying to the program! If you watch it through YouTube, the video is time-stamped with each topic in case you ever want to go back to a specific conversation.

I hope you find this video helpful and that these diverse perspectives give you more insight into what student life is like in the Master’s program! Welcome to the Humans of USC Chan!

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Introducing OT ⟩
September 16, 2020, by Bethany

Videos What are OS/OT?

Between our summer session ending and the start of fall, we had a one week break. And I tried to make the most of the time. I engaged in some of my favorite activities that had been pushed off during finals week, including different musical occupations. One of the most entertaining is making parodies of songs and rewriting lyrics.

I found myself reflecting on my school experiences as an OT. Ever since freshman year, I’ve had to have a definition of my major at hand. That basic introduction question of “What are you studying?” probably brought more explanation than that poor engineering student was expecting. But I thought it would be fun to put it all in song form. I hope you find this parody of Nick Jonas’ “Introducing Me” both informative and amusing. So whether you’re here for the laughs or you’ve stumbled onto this page by accident and want to learn more about OT, here it is, for your perusing.

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New Occupation, Who This? ⟩
August 18, 2020, by Calvin

Classes Videos What are OS/OT?

The bittersweet summer semester is over! This was my first full semester online and honestly after I hit the “submit” button on my last final exam, I was so relieved and just felt so much freer. Thankfully, we all get one week off to destress before getting back on the grind for the fall.

Something I really wanted to do during the break was tie-dye, and I know what you’re thinking: “that’s so random . . . what does that have to do with anything?” Well, in the OT 534: Health Promotion and Wellness course, Dr. Laura Cox and Dr. Kelcie Kadowaki (both on the Faculty Practice Team) gave us a class day to practice self-care and mindfulness by offering various “Wellness Workshops”. I joined the “Tie-Dye” group because I had never done it before and it seemed really fun! It was so nice to step away from lectures to loosen up, and it reminded me that sometimes I just need to breathe and be in the present. I echo the sentiments of Bethany, Lamoni and Savi’s blog posts about remembering to be good to ourselves, to do what we can, and that it’s okay to give ourselves the time and space we need. I hope that this video can serve as a reminder to practice self-care and also just give you a good laugh! Stick around until the end of the vlog for a very special clip! (Spoiler Alert: Liz makes a colorful guest appearance!)

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A Day in the Life (Zoom Edition) ⟩
June 26, 2020, by Calvin

Classes Videos

Calvin is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

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Meeting ID: Calvin’s Corner

Connecting . . .

Hey everyone! Today, I’ll be unmuting and starting my video to show you all a day in my life as a USC Chan Occupational Therapy Student (Zoom Edition)! In this vlog, I invite you into my typical Tuesday where you can see what courses I’ve been taking, what student organizations I’ve been participating in, and so much more. I was actually inspired by our division’s very own Student Vlogger, Caroline Kim, when she posted a day in the life video on the USC Chan YouTube Channel! You can go check out her video here!

I hope that this gives you a good glimpse into my Zoom life and what the program is like right now. Hopefully, I can continue finding the time to make more videos for the “Calvin’s Corner” series, but for now, please enjoy!

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Courses at Chan: What Makes Each Trojan OT Unique ⟩
May 5, 2020, by Japeth

Classes Videos

One thing I really love about the Post-Professional Master of Arts in OT program at USC Chan is the liberty that we have as students to learn what we are really interested in. The program takes a year to complete and consists of two semesters: the Fall semester includes the core courses (these are the courses that you take together with the entire cohort) and the Spring semester includes two core courses and elective courses (these courses are specialty courses and students take what they are passionate about).

This spring semester, I decided to take the following courses: OT 560 Contemporary Issues in School-Based Practice, OT 583 Lifestyle Redesign, OT 565 Sensory Integration Interventions, and OT 568 Sensory Processing and Sensory Integration: Special Topics.

OT 565 and OT 568: I want to take this chance to say thank you to Dr. Janet Gunter and Dr. Joan Surfus for being amazing! The Sensory Integration Theory is not an easy theory to learn, and it even gets more difficult when you start learning how to use it during assessment and intervention, but these two professors made sure that we learn every concept and encouraged us to ask questions when we were quite confused. They give us coursework that are practical and useful and are very helpful in making us integrate theory into practice.

OT 560: Dr. Linsey Smith is a great teacher for me. Each module was equipped with up to date information about OT in the school setting, evidence-based interventions, and standardized assessments! I love how the course is properly organized according to the grade level from Early Intervention to High School transition, and it also included contents about interprofessional collaboration, professionalism management, and advocacy!

OT 583: Another “only at USC” course and also one of the best at Chan is the Lifestyle Redesign® elective. This course taught me how to manage myself as a person and as an OT, how to manage individual and group sessions that are very client-centered, and how to establish routines and habits through behavior change. This course is very empowering, and I appreciate how Dr. Camille Dieterle allows us to do return demonstrations during class.

(Disclaimer: You can take 10-12 units of elective courses, and mine is more than that because as a student, we are also allowed to overload.)

And finally, I am sharing this video project that USC Chan’s Post-Professional Master’s in OT 2020 created! We hope that this will be a useful resource to future students!

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