January Birthday Celebrants!

Happy Birthday to all January Birthday Celebrants!


Cohort 3

January 3 - Sheryl T.
January 16 - Melissa
January 27 - Alex


Cohort 4 Section 1

January 4 - Bindiya
January 21- Ju Chin
January 29 - Coleen


Cohort 4 Section 2

January 22 - Rebecca W.

December Birthday Celebrants!

Happy Birthday December Babies!




Cohort 3




December 7 - Zeela
December 18 - Kunthy




Cohort 4 Section 1




December 5 - Jess Abad
December 6 - Erin Kupka
December 8 - Wendy Butler





Cohort Section 2




December 15 - Susan Lee

November Birthday Celebrants!!!

Happy Birthday November babies!

Cohort 3

November 14 - Betty
November 14 - Karen Ro.


Cohort 4 Section 1

November 3 - Jessica D.



Cohort 4 Section 2

November 8 - Dan
November 11 - Yeaj
November 14 - Sarah

October Birthday Celebrants!

Happy Birthday October babies!

Cohort 3

October 3 - Ivonne
October 4 - Rene
October 8 - Abby
October 20 - Jenny


Cohort 4 Section 1

October 1 - Kristen C.
October 18 - Kristen H.
October 19 - Sarah G.


Cohort 4 Section 2

October 28 - Cody Moore


Wishing all of you more birthdays to come!!!

Newsletter Makeover

As you have observed, I have updated not only the content of the newletter but the look of it as well! I did not move around a lot. I arranged most of the content in the same area except for the Side bar which was previously found on the left side of the website. I also put the Poll section near the start of the blog so no one can miss it and everybody can vote on the questions posted for the month or semester.

I cleaned it up a bit and you will notice in the next couple of weeks or so, new pictures will appear on the slide show. So don't forget to check who would pop up!

So what do you guys think of the update? Just click on the "comments" at the end of this article/post and it'll take you to the comments section wherein you can share your thoughts about it!

Hope you all had a great break!

Poll Result: What Area of Occupational Therapy are you interested in?

For all the people who voted on the Poll, thank you and your feedback is much appreciated! Polls and surveys are done to see another person's perspective of a situation or an idea and it shows us the uniqueness of how people think.

As for summer semester's poll about the area of occupational therapy that people are interested in, the results were the following:

1. Physical dysfunction: 44%
2. Pediatrics: 33%
3. Education: 22%
4. Geriatrics: 11%
5. Community: 11%
6. Adolescents: 0%
7. Research: 0%

When you visit the Newsletter blog, please don't forget to vote on the poll! It only takes 5 seconds to answer it. Thank you!

September Birthday Celebrants!

Happy Birthday to all those who are celebrating their birthday on the month of September!


Cohort 3


September 2 - Jessica
September 11 - Jaime
September 26 - Kyla


Cohort 4 Section 1


September 1 - Tim
September 7 - Farrah
September 12 - Danielle
September 18 - Gloria


Cohort 4 Section 2


Sept 4 - Hien Tran
Sept 9 - Jennifer Takeda



Hope everyone have a blast on their birthdays!

A Page at the OTAC meeting

by: Avry Umali

On August 24, 2008 I had the opportunity to be part of the Occupational Therapy Association of California (OTAC). I was a student page for a day that involved the discussion and decision-making process of the board members. It was held on the Queen Mary Hotel in Long Beach.

I have met most of the OTAC officers and found myself intimidated by these outstanding professionals as well as excited that I had the opportunity to talk to them. They discussed their separate responsibilities of their jobs and some fieldwork discussion for students such as possible sites and opportunities. It seemed like it was a gathering of old friends and colleagues catching up on the latest issues. Shawn Phipps, the current president of OTAC, invited everyone to the boardroom after lunch so they can proceed with their agenda of the day: improving and generating growth to the organization.

Upon starting the board meeting, I noticed the unusual way it was being conducted. They utilized a parliamentary system to conduct the meeting. It was interesting to behold and to learn the nuances of how it should be conducted.

Other than the board members, various chairperson of each committee were present. Some of them that I remembered were the committee on education, practice, student affairs, and communication. It showed me that OTAC wanted everyone to be represented and they have thought of how to systematically divide the extensive responsibility to each committee.

What was my responsibility as a student page you ask? I assisted the secretary to ensure a smooth flow of the board meeting. I was responsible for providing the communication between the board members and the committees. Another task was to ensure that the charges or the responsibility assigned by the board to a person was noted and reviewed at the end of the meeting. But most of all, as most of the board members noted, it was a chance to see how OTAC functioned as an organization to encourage the students to be proactive as they would be leading the profession in the near future.

To be honest, I did not know what OTAC was working towards when I joined them as a member. It was a vague understanding that I had. When I was invited to work as a page on the meeting, it piqued my interest and curiosity so I accepted and I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed the experience thoroughly and learned that they were working hard to ensure that OT remains in California.

At the end of the day, decisions were made at the approval of the board. They reviewed the current issues at hand such as the OTAC convention in Ontario, the new look of OTAC, and the distribution of responsibilities and tasks.

The theme to summarize the totality of OTAC is change. OTAC is moving towards growth and more possibilities for our profession. If you have the time and interest, maybe you would like to be part of the positive change, too.

Good luck and good bye Cohort 3...

Aboard the Sailing Ship Spirit

It is that part of the semester that a cohort will leave behind their campus life. Onwards they go to their Fieldwork II and we celebrated their triumph on a cruise around the port of San Pedro!

Cohort 3 and Cohort 4 OT students at the cruise

It was a night to remember as both Cohort 3 and 4 were on board to catch up on stories about their lives and to enjoy the end of Summer session! We were honored to have a couple of our professors, Diane Mayfield and Shawn Phipps, who joined us on the celebration.

one of the bridges around the port

As wayfarers of old have said to fellow travellers, "Fare thee well fellow sailors on this part of your voyage... May the Northern Star guide you always!"

Spinal Cord Injury Games on September 12, 2008

The University of Southern California (USC) students are organizing a group to volunteer at the Spinal Cord Injury Games on September 12, 2008. It will be held at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center in Downey, CA. They are inviting CSUDH OT students to join them on this exciting day. This is a way for us to meet other students who are pursuing the same dream: becoming an OT! Inquiries and Interested students can post their questions and confirmation on the comments section or send me an email. Confirmation must be received before September 7, 2008.

Calendar of Events for Fall 2008

Occupational Therapy Calendar

October 10-12 - Occupational Therapy Association of California (OTAC) Conference at Ontario Convention Center. Pre-registration discounts are available through September 10, 2008.


CSUDH Academic Calendar

September 1 - Labor Day (campus closed)
November 11 - Veterans' Day (campus closed)
November 27-29 - Thanksgiving Holiday (campus closed)
December 13-19 - Final Examination week

As found in: http://www.csudh.edu/academicaffairs/StudentInformation/AcademicCalendar.html


Holidays and Days of Observance

September 11 - Patriot Day
September 22 - First day of Autumn
October 13 - Columbus Day
October 31 - Halloween
November 4 - Election Day
November 11 - Veterans' Day
November 27 - Thanksgiving
December 25 - Christmas Day
January 1 - New Year

As found in: http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/?year=2008&country=1

August Birthday Celebrants!

Happy Birthday to the August Babies!



Cohort 3

August 24 - Lisa and Janice

August 25 - Maryann and Irene



Cohort 4 Section 1

August 7 - Amporn

August 10 - Sandy

August 20 - Erika C.

August 23 - Brianna



Cohort 4 Section 2

August 10 - Maria

August 16 - Karyn

August 22 - Mary

Update on the Ralphs Fundraiser by PTE

Kunthy, Treasurer of Pi Theta Epsilon Society, would like to announce an update on the fundraiser that we have in partnership with Ralph's Supermarkets. There is a new Rewards program that they have recently launched and many of the people who has enrolled in the previous program will be receiving new cards. This changes will affect the PTE fundraising if people do not make any of the necessary changes mentioned below. They had provided everyone with two options and both of them easy to follow.

From Ralphs: As most of you probably know, Ralphs recently launched it's new 'Ralphs Rewards' program. All customers will be completing a new application and receiving a new card the next time they go shopping at Ralphs.

HOW DOES THIS AFFECT RALPHS COMMUNITY REWARDS?

(1) As long as your members LINK their previously enrolled Ralphs Club Card with their new Ralphs Rewards Card, their participation with your organization will continue without change. As a confirmation point, everyone will still see the organization contribution note at the bottom of their receipt.

(2) If they did not link their 2 cards together when they received their new Rewards Card, they must go online at http://www.ralphs.com/ to ENROLL their new Ralphs Rewards Card with your organization.

If you have any questions, please call us at 1-800-443-4438.

RALPH'S FUNDRAISER

Every time you spend money, you make money for PTE! It literally takes 30 seconds. Even better, you can get ALL your friends and family to register too!!

Here's how to do it:

1. Go to http://www.ralphs.com/ccprogram.htm.

2. Click on Participant, the link on the right.

3. Click I Agree.

4. PTE's NPO Number is 90353.

5. Fill out the card information and the matching personal info.

6. Click Submit! It's that easy!

You MUST have the card number to register. If you or your family has lost the card, there is a phone number you can call to get it. Just let them know you lost the card but you need to have the card number. The phone number is 800-660-9003.

Asking for everyone's help and generosity!

Mae P. of Cohort 3 is asking everyone's help to support a program called Casa Teresa. It is a program that provide homes for homeless unwed mothers ages 18 and over at Orange, CA. If you would like to check the full information about the program you can check it at http://www.casateresa.com/. Mae would be collecting all the donations until July 30th and will be given to Casa Teresa on August 3rd. If you have additional questions, you can contact her at mcspascua@hotmail.com. Examples of the items that will be needed are provided below. Mae would like to thank everyone in advance for their help, support, and generosity.

New or "Barely" Used Baby Items for Mothers:
Cribs
Bassinets
New Crib Mattresses
Crib Linens
Mylacon drops
Baby Tylenol
Orajel
Baby Bathtubs
New or near new baby clothes (size newborn – 2T)
Receiving Blankets
Diapers (size newborn to Size 4)
New Car seats and Strollers
Canned/Dry Food
Baby Formula
Baby Wipes
Baby MonitorsMiscellaneous Items for the Residents:
Food Cards
Phone Cards
Bath Robes
Pajamas
Gift Cards for Wal-Mart or Target
Bedding
Towels
New Bed Pillows
Alarm Clock/Radios
Laundry Baskets
Disposable Cameras

Office Equipment/Technology:

Fax Machine, Scanner, Photo Printer

The Ball Pit & Jenny

Dear Ball Pit:
Hi. It has been a while, I’m sorry. About 3 years, in fact. How are you? I have been super busy and doing really well. Remember how we met? I had just graduated Cal Lutheran with a Psych degree and just come to the realization and conclusion that I am too emotional already to be all that a psychologist should be. Perfect. Timing. Luckily, I was able to move from part time to full time at my job. As you know all too well, working with kids with Autism can be both frustrating and rewarding; aaaaaand can open many doors for opportunity, which is how I met you!
One of the children I was working with regularly (and completely in love with) suddenly had to change her schedule. I had been seeing her 3 times a week for almost a year and was now at the risk of seeing her maybe once a week...maybe even not at all. Well, what the heck? Why was this happening? Apparently, she was going to start seeing an Occupational Therapist for sensory integration. Oh. Yeah, of course. Obviously. Wait, what? What IS that?
I decided I wasn’t going to go down without a fight so I told Mom that I would just go to her OT sessions with her. Maybe I could help somehow? I had never seen anything like a Sensory Integration Clinic. It was a huge room filled with you, swings and slides, and zip-lines. There were children working with therapists and their parents, having a great time. It was only later that I learned these “toys” served a major purpose. I started looking into Occupational Therapy on the internet and asking about it around my job. I loved the idea that children could be helped by making them feel good AND give solutions to problems I didn’t even know they could have. Naïve.
So the reason I haven’t seen you in sooo long is because I have been going to school to become an OT. School has opened my eyes to all of the different avenues Occupational Therapy can cover. I hope you don’t get jealous, but there is a whole adolescent population in the mental health field just waiting to be helped, and I think I’ve found my calling there. But don’t be sad, please, because it was from within you that I realized I wanted to be an OT. Remember that day? I was sitting right in the middle of you, waiting for a child to come down the slide into my arms. So thank you. You don’t know what you have done for me. I love you!

Thank you, thank you always and forever,

Jenny N. <3

July Birthday Celebrants!

Cohort 3


July 1 - Cali H.

July 23 - Kristi R.

July 31 - Amy Z.



Cohort 4 Section 1


July 11 - Kate

July 18 - Robert

July 26 - Julie



Cohort 4 Section 2


July 29 - Anna

July 31 - Zach



Happy Birthday to all of you! Wishing you more fruitful endeavors to come!

Fieldwork I experience

by Avry Umali

It's the first fieldwork experience for Cohort 4 occupational therapy students!

I remember we were all excited prior to receiving our corresponding fieldwork sites. Now that we have seen how occupational therapy works in various settings or how these sites can benefit from occupational therapy, its time to reflect upon them and share the experience with our other classmates.

It would be interesting to find out where other people went and know what you think of your site! Describe your fieldwork site (you don't have to write down the name of the site for privacy). Add in the skills or things that you've learned there and maybe add in what you think their site or program can improve in. Your suggestions and comments are welcome!

SOTA Officers for School Year 2008-2009

Submitted by: Katy Rae Bachar
Edited by: Avry Umali

As Cohort 3's departure from campus activity approaches, they will be passing the torch to Cohort 4 for all administrative and executive functions for SOTA. Here are your new SOTA officers for the school year 2008-2009:

President: Cody M.

Vice President: Jessica A.

Treasurer: Kristen H.

Secretary: Amporn K.

Fundraising: VACANT

Social/Community Service: Ieecha H.

Historian: Jacqueline M. and Gloria H.

Newsletter: Avry U. and Erin K.

Snack Shoppe Representative: Jeanette Young


If anyone who is energetic and a natural advocate is out there, please apply for the fundraising position!

Here is a short message from Zeela Diwa, the previous fundraising chairperson from cohort 3:

HEY COHORT 4! This is Zeela, from cohort 3 and current fundraising chair for SOTA. I encourage any one of you to do this position for SOTA. You can put the FUN in fundraising, I know I did;) The officer position is vital to SOTA's funding of meetings, events, and activities. Also, you can use whatever money you raise for your Alumni Night, Graduation Banquet, and other exciting events. It does not require much work, as long as you can find fundraising opportunities and possible donors, this will not take too much out of your precious time. I did most of the events on days when the cohort had no class, which is mostly Fridays. You can also work with other officers to help fundraise. I am including an attachment to this email about what I did as a SOTA officer. Please consider this position!

Peace, Zeela

Congratulations to all!

What do occupational therapy students during their break?

by Avry Umali

1st summer session has finally ended. I know that there is another session in store for us but before that, let’s enjoy our week break from school! So throw away your books for a little while (hopefully not literally), sit back, and relax!

In relation to school breaks, I conducted a survey about how CSUDH occupational therapy students would do or plan to do with their seven days. I had a total of 50 survey sheets returned out of 76 (65.79%) students in the masters of occupational therapy program. 25 students came from cohort 3, 8 students from cohort 4 section 1, and 18 students from cohort 4 section 2.

Survey sheets were distributed to occupational therapy students prior to end of spring 2008 break. The survey sheet had the question “How do OT students spend their precious week off from school?”. A maximum of ten items were allowed on the survey sheets. Survey sheets were collected and the total numbers of responses were recorded. Cohort 3 had a total of 231 responses, cohort 4 section 1 had a total of 67 responses, and cohort 4 section 2 had a total of 159 responses.

All responses were categorized and sorted. The categories that emerged were:

Table I. Categories of survey responses

Sleep
vacation & trips
cleaning/organizing area (room, house, apartment, car, etc)
watch a movie/tv
meet/eat/call friends, relatives, loved ones
relaxing or do nothing
get a job and make some money/work
exercise or going to the gym
eating (out or in)
school related activities (Buying or selling books, registering for summer school, etc)
go to clubs and bars (can be drinking/dancing, specified)
be involved in any sport
doing crafts or other projects
PC/video console activities (blogging, playing games, surfing the internet)
run errands (do grocery shopping, pay bills, etc)
cooking and/or baking
reading
drinking
shopping (clothes, shoes, etc.)
dancing
listening to music
smoking


I have sorted the top five activities that emerged from each cohort’s survey. The results were as follows:

Table II. Cohort 3’s top 5 activities to do during their school break (n=231)


meet/eat/call friends, relatives, loved ones=49 responses (21.21%)

vacation & trips=30 responses (13.00%)

cleaning/organizing area (room, house, apartment, car, etc)=16 responses (6.93%)

watch a movie/tv TIE exercise or going to the gym=14 responses (6.06%)

doing crafts or other projects=11 responses (4.76%)



Table III. Cohort 4 section 1’s top 5 activities to do during their school break (n=67)

meet/eat/call friends, relatives, loved ones TIE vacation & trips=11 responses (16.42%)

relaxing or do nothing TIE cooking and/or baking=6 responses (8.96%)

watch a movie/tv TIE exercise or going to the gym=5 responses (7.46%)

school related activities (Buying or selling books, registering for summer school, etc)=4 responses (5.97%)

doing crafts or other projects TIE shopping (clothes, shoes, etc.)=3 responses (4.48%)



Table IV. Cohort 4 section 2’s top 5 activities to do during their school break (n=159)

meet/eat/call friends, relatives, loved ones=27 responses (16.98%)

vacation & trips=20 responses (12.58%)

watch a movie/tv =12 responses (7.55%)

school related activities (Buying or selling books, registering for summer school, etc)=9 responses (5.66%)

exercise or going to the gym TIE shopping (clothes, shoes, etc.)=8 responses (5.03%)



One thing that I can say is that all three cohorts identifying and agreeing on the same activity was amazing. I guess we learn to value our relationships with other people as we deal with the daily stress of school life.

What do you guys think of these results? Please write and comment!

Recent Event @ CSUDH: Earth day

Have you seen the cute submarine on campus? How about the Japanese dance at the Student union? Did you get your free plant? If not, you just missed a lot during the celebration of Earth day at the CSUDH campus.

in the picture: Amanda and Daniel of Cohort 4

Some organizations celebrated Earth day by handing out potted plants to be planted in our own backyard. There was an awareness booth set up at the student union reminding us to protect our mother earth.

So let us celebrate what nature has given us and plant a tree! For those of you who have received a plant, post a picture or send us your picture of how your plant is doing. For those of you who haven’t received a plant, share us your ideas of saving mother earth.
Happy Earth day to all!

Making the world a better place

I know that many of us had experienced disability in life. It may be through a family member, a friend, co-worker, or even our clients. It is easy to say that you empathize with them. It is easy to put yourself in their shoes. But is that all you are willing to do? In short, what are you going to do about it?

The story that I will be sharing with everyone today was forwarded to me by my cousin. He has personally experienced how disability affects one's life. I hope you enjoy the story and learn that we have a lot more responsibility as health professionals than we possibly thought.


"As many of you know I have a brother who is mentally challenged and physically incapable of doing stuff that normal kids [that] teenagers and adults could do. The message you are about to read is a two part message I read off a yahoo group that our clan has. The question I pose to you is would you have done the same?"

The message starts below:

Two Choices

What would you do? You make the choice. Don't look for a punch line, there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the same choice?

At a fund raising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question: 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?'

The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.'

Then he told the following story:

Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

Shay's father approached o ne of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.'

Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.

The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.

Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball ... the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman’s head... Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.

All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'

Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third! Shay, run to third!'

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team.

'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world'.

Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.

If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person who sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little bit colder in the process?

A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.

"Now back to my question would you have done the same as those boys did? This really hits the spot for me as I can really relate to the story. And that's why I’m passing this around. It's your turn to decide to pass this or not, but whether or not you do pass it I still pray the same prayer for all of you that may our Lord God bless you and put you out of harm’s way."

Sincerely,
Allen

Official Logo Search!

I have noticed that I do not like the generic background... Maybe some people do too! So if you have a great idea of a layout or a new logo for the Virtual community, send it out and we'll see how it works!

A Brand New Day!

Aloha! I was wondering when I would get around of making my first article. With things getting so hectic around campus and with the finals almost near, I thought of something to do and fast! What Am I supposed to do to promote OT as well as create a fun newsletter for my colleagues? I can't just put articles and journals that they have read and will read during their stay in the program. I should put something light-hearted, fun, and encouraging to the OT people... Ahem... I mean, I'm not saying that reading journals and learning are not great but Occupational Therapy is more than that and we know it! So we needed something innovative, something we would get noticed by the general public to show how diverse and holistic our approach is, not only in class but in each of our lives and it would last than just a couple of semesters.

That's when I got the crazy idea to put up a blog! Everybody tends to check their emails anyway. So why not create a virtual community as well? This would archive our success and travails through OT life... and we may even teach a lesson to the incoming OT students with our posts and comments someday. I just hope we won't scare them away!

So here I am, typing away, trying to fill the void that is the MSOT newsletter in live feed! If anybody asks what was I thinking and trying to do, tell them I was just trying to save trees!

Ciao! Until next time!

Avry
Crazy girl who loves trees (apparently)