An Unconventional Occupational Therapy Student

I graduated from Temple University in 2017 with a major in Tourism and Hospitality Management. After graduation, I accepted a position with a company and moved to Washington D.C. to work at the Capital One Arena, home of the Washington Capitals (hockey) and Washington Wizards (basketball). I was quickly immersed in the business world as manager of premium clubs and suites, working long event-based hours, managing employees, writing contracts and selling different products.

In 2018, the Capitals were contenders for their first Stanley Cup, and work got increasingly busy. As exhilarating and invigorating as this experience was, I was quickly realizing that this was not a fulfilling career. Yes, it was exciting when I got to see the city come together and win its first Stanley Cup. Yes, it was exciting in the moment when fans were cheering, confetti was streaming down, people were crying, and when I was given my very own Stanley Cup ring from the team. But it wasn’t fulfilling.

I started looking for a new job, one that may feel more “like me.” I stumbled across an opportunity at a hotel in Philadelphia. My job was fun, I got to create relationships with clients, help plan events and create wonderful experiences, but something was still missing. While all of this was going on I was recovering from an injury. That past winter I had a skiing accident and tore my ACL and meniscus, and I had to undergo surgery. The surgery was unsuccessful, and after intense physical therapy, I underwent another surgery seven months later, and another four months after that. During my experience as a patient and seeing my own recovery process unfold, I was inspired and intrigued. I started doing research. I saw both Physical Therapy (PT) and Occupational Therapy (OT) at work and fell in love with the rehabilitation field. I began shadowing, talking to my own physical therapist, interviewing friends in OT school, and decided that OT was the career for me.

While still working at the hotel, I continued shadowing occupational therapists. I also started classes to complete the many missing science-based prerequisite courses that I needed. I researched schools that stood out to me and began filling out my applications. I had a long road ahead of me, and applications were due in a few months. Every night after work I was either in class, studying for the GRE, or shadowing.

In February I got the call from Salus, my top choice, that officials there wanted me to come in for an interview. I was over the moon! I showed up to my interview in a full knee brace and on crutches. The tour guides were wonderful, accommodating, and answered all of my questions. The campus was beautiful, intimate, and charming. I loved the small feel, especially in contrast to the large community at Temple. The staff and faculty who interviewed me were passionate, professional, and full of knowledge. I knew the moment I stepped (crutched) onto this campus that I belonged here.

The biggest draw to Salus is that it took a chance on me. I did not have a science background, my GRE score was average, and I was still taking my last anatomy class so my transcript was incomplete. I told them my story and promised that I would finish my last class in good standing and that I had an unmatchable drive. I received my acceptance letter weeks later.

Fast forward, and now I am in my last didactic semester of OT school. I am a member of the Pennsylvania Occupational Therapy Association and was treasurer of the Student Occupational Therapy Association for four semesters. I am currently president of my class and am a work-study student for two different departments. I also had the opportunity to attend a healthcare service trip to Guatemala over this past summer as the only occupational therapy student, along with nine other Physician Assistant (PA) students from Salus. I have made wonderful, supportive, and caring friends and developed great relationships with my professors. I truly believe that this school is where I was meant to end up.

I am here to tell you that your past does not define your future, that you are capable of whatever you put your mind to. Just because you don’t have a science background does not mean that you cannot be successful in a healthcare graduate program. It is worth it to chase your dreams, no matter how scary the first step or road may seem.

- Robin is a second-year occupational therapy student at Salus University

Learn More About Salus University 

Submit Your Student Story

The Graduate School Transition

Starting Salus University directly after completing my undergraduate degree, I knew that being a professional graduate student would be different. Throughout my time exploring graduate schools as well as from my visit and interview here at Salus University, I knew that graduate school was going to be more “hands-on” and more “applied” than undergrad. As reiterated during Orientation week, the goal of graduate school to become a professional. Prior to starting my coursework, I couldn’t quite wrap my head around what we would do in class and what the assignments would look like to help me meet that goal. 

Now that the semester is well underway, I realize that graduate school is not just about sitting in lecture and memorizing and understanding lots of material, as was the case in most of my undergraduate classes. To be an effective practitioner, across all programs offered at Salus, other skills must be learned, too. It is in this sense that graduate school teaches you how to be a professional. In other words, graduate school is job training, where we build upon, apply to, and use the knowledge we have obtained in a practical way. The classroom work is preparation for, and an essential companion to, the clinical fieldwork that will we be completing in later semesters. 

Coming from a fairly large state university focused on the health sciences and talking to friends there already in their respective health graduate programs, I expected certain logistical differences between undergrad and grad school once I began my career at Salus. Of course, all programs and all schools vary, but from my conversations, I expected that my classes would be structured such that all students in my program year would be with me in each class; that all of my classes would be held in the same building; that the classes would meet less frequently throughout the week; and that I would complete many projects and presentations, including group projects. No longer would I take classes from a wide variety of disciplines, scampering from one end of campus to the other to make it to the next building in time for the next 50-minute class, where there I would often only know a fraction of my classmates. This different school structure I was told about has been true and has provided very beneficial learning experiences. 

As a first-year Occupational Therapy (OT) student, my class consists of 50 students. We are in class with each other for all of our courses, except we split up into smaller groups for labs. Through this set up, we really do have the opportunity to get to know each other. Additionally, the claim about group work has rang true as well. Often times, in class, we have discussions in small groups and also have class-wide discussions. This interactive format helps us to learn by collaborating with each other and sharing different perspectives, which are important aspects to our future careers in healthcare. During our lab time, we complete hands-on activities. We also have many group projects assigned outside of class that make up a large part of our grade. Working in teams, communicating, and respectfully sharing ideas are all necessary professional skills we must develop and the classroom set-up as well as the assessments foster these attributes.

Another note about class scheduling- for the Occupational Therapy program, we only have about two classes per day, and we only have each class once a week. This means that when we are in each class, the class is several hours long. At first, when I heard that this is how many graduate programs are set up, I wasn’t sure how I would like sitting in the same room concentrating on one subject for such a long time, especially if the class was strictly a lecture, as I didn’t prefer this type of class schedule in my secondary school years. However, despite having long classes, from the start of my first week at Salus, I have gotten so much out of these classes for several reasons. First, because the classes are interactive, whether through discussions, group work assignments, or through the professor asking questions throughout the lecture, being in one class for one block of time has kept my attention and stimulated my thinking. Additionally, having a larger block of time allows for completion of more hands-on activities which allows us
to hone in on skills that will be needed as a professional occupational therapist. During our time in the College of Education and Rehabilitation (CER) Lab, we work in pairs at different stations completing different tasks in order to assess the skills needed to perform such tasks – such as putting beads on a string to assess a preschool educational benchmark relating to patterning. We’re usually given short five to ten minute breaks periodically to break up the time and allow us to get up and stretch our legs, so the class feels like it is divided into smaller time frames. Lastly, our classes are scheduled back-to-back, with a lunch hour in between, which makes for an efficient day. The classes are engaging, and I’m surprised by how quickly the time has passed when we reach the end of each class.

The logistics of graduate school have met my expectations and I have seen the benefits of why graduate school is set up this way. Having longer class times with our entire class enhances our learning, and takes us one step further in becoming a professional. 

- Kaylin is a first-year occupational therapy student at Salus University

Learn More About Salus University