Occupational Therapy Personal Statement

Personal Statement 2017
I thought I had everything figured out during my freshman year; however, in June 2015, I discovered my love for occupational therapy. One early morning in June, my boyfriend and I were involved in a car accident and he sustained several injuries: two shattered bones in his left foot, a broken left femur, three broken fingers on his left hand, and a fractured C2 vertebra. For three months, he was in a halo which restricted the movement of his neck and spine, and because of his broken leg had to use a wheelchair or walker to be mobile. I spent the whole summer with him and his occupational therapist, helping him accomplish his activities of daily living such as washing his hair, getting dressed, and walking without assistance.

In turn, I hope for my degree to help me be happy and financially-stable in a fulfilling career, one where I am certain I will continue to strive to better myself. By volunteering in several different occupational therapy settings such as pediatric, high school, geriatric, and psychiatric, I have come to realize just how diverse an occupational therapy degree can be. Therefore, I could use this degree to follow my desire to help people in any area of their life-span. One long-term goal I have with this degree is to make a positive impact in Early Childhood Intervention, an area I am passionate about because of my special education minor and from having two younger

However, the classes that had the greatest impact on me where the ones for my minor. My minor in Special Education, non-teaching has trained me to look at someone’s situation in many different perspectives. I credit this minor for my deepened understanding of several different disabilities and how to interact one-on-one with a diversity of individuals. It has also expanded my knowledge on the assortment of assistive technologies that can be used in a variety of occupational therapy settings. From working, I believe many valuable attributes are obtained. Over the last three years I have worked in Target as a sales floor representative, a restaurant as a waitress, and an all-season resort as a lifeguard; all forms of employment that encompass interacting with people. Some skills I learned throughout working were respect for someone else’s opinion and how to work effectively as co-workers. These skills translated into confidence and maturity when shadowing at different