I hope to earn a Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy and devote myself to a professional lifetime searching for, studying, enhancing, and empowering Occupational Therapy interventions and programs. I was inspired to go into Occupational Therapy after seeing how horticulture and organic agriculture can be used to facilitate Occupational Therapy interventions. Agriculture can be a great deal of fun, and individuals enjoy working in nature and engaging in something so basic as food production. I look forward to learning about your OT program's many engaging, fun, meaningful, and practical activities. I find great satisfaction in working with special-needs children, teenagers, and young adults, and I look forward to giving my all to this fields
I have already devoted a great deal of time to studying Artificial intelligence, robotics, and automation, which are coming to healthcare and the field of Occupational Therapy. I look forward to serving at the forefront of novel uses for technological advancement in our area.
I will always be an avid reader and a concerned professional, assuring that innovative technologies are designed and implemented ethically and in socially responsible ways. As an OT professional, I look forward to extensive collaboration with mental health professionals, therapists, counselors, and social workers to improve outcomes for our clients. I will take special pride in helping people reduce time spent in the hospital by improving their quality of life and capacity for self-care. If accepted to your program, I will give my all to Occupational Therapy since becoming a highly respected OT is at the forefront of my priorities. While still a beginner, I am also making rapid progress in learning Spanish because I feel strongly that being multilingual is a distinct asset in our field. Spanish is often the language of the underserved in America.
I look forward to working with an organization that combines my interest in environmental protection/appreciation work and helping others through OT. I hope to build a nature-based practice where OT takes place as part of treasuring and savoring our natural environment while enjoying the outdoors. My ideal position could be at a rehabilitation hospital that operates on a farm, the OT on an interdisciplinary team. I already focus on underserved youth and foster children regarding my independent reading. I could see myself in a residential facility for foster children, helping them gain employment and life skills for the future.
I served as the manager for the organization’s 1-acre urban farm, working with volunteers from the community to grow organic food. I have also volunteered at an alternative high school in Madison, WI. In 2014, I traveled to East Java, Indonesia, to volunteer at a non-profit organization called the Learning Farm for five months, doing organic agriculture and teaching business and life skills (English) to approximately 40 at-risk street youth from around the Indonesian Archipelago.
I have a lot of professional experience that relates to occupational therapy. First, I worked as a full-time, live-in, direct care worker with two adult men with developmental disabilities for a year with Options in Community Living in Madison, WI. I helped them with all their activities of daily living, including bathing, dressing, grooming, brushing teeth, meal preparation, medication delivery, and more. I also helped them participate in community events like going to a gardening club, bowling, holiday events, and more. I did this type of job a second time, years later, in Bozeman, MT, working in a group home with seven different individuals with developmental disabilities, assisting them with similar things.
I also worked at a wilderness therapy program for at-risk teenagers in Hawaii for four years. This was a residential treatment facility for teenagers struggling with mental illness. Students I worked with struggled with depression, anxiety, suicide ideation, self-harm, eating disorders, ADD, autism, etc. This program was unique because it focused partly on using Horticulture Therapy as a treatment option. My role at this organization was first as a direct care staff and then as a supervisor of natural care staff, as well as working 1:1 with students and supporting them in adopting healthy life skills. And I taught them how to grow their own/cook healthy food, work through difficult emotions, communicate effectively, practice vulnerability with their peers, etc. I also helped them practice basic things like brushing their teeth, eating three meals, drinking enough water, and taking medication.
Coworkers and supervisors have told me that I am hard-working, patient, humble, calm, easy-going, and easy to have a good relationship with. I am comfortable either being a leader or just a hard-working team member. I don’t get flustered quickly; I am flexible and ready for any situation, including crises. I am a good listener and enjoy creating creative solutions to complex problems. I am currently a teacher’s assistant at a public middle school. I help students with most aspects of their education and school life.
Thank you for considering my application.
Master's OT, Occupational Therapy Personal Purpose