Emily Davis, a student

I was fortunate enough to go on an amazing study abroad in Jerusalem, at the BYU Center on Mount Scopus. Again, that experience means so much to me, and some of the best things that I took away from that experience was the relationships I had built with amazing people. One of these people is Emily Davis.

After we returned home, Emily graduated from Brigham Young University with a double major in Therapy Recreation and Spanish. I asked Emily why she choose occupational therapy. She knew that she wanted to go to grad school and therapy was at the top of her list. Emily felt that occupational therapy fit her a lot better as opposed to physical therapy. She was excited to help people gain the skills that they needed to do things that they had never done before or to regain a skill that they had lost. As I have researched more and more about occupational therapy, I have come to realize that, just as much as knowledge, personal qualities and interpersonal skills are critical for being a successful occupational therapist. Emily will be a great occupational therapist because of the education she is gaining and qualities that she possesses.

After a lot of planning and comparing, Emily decided that she wanted to attend Touro University in Nevada. Emily is entering into her second year and has gone through this whole experience with 31 other students. This is her group bowling after class. Emily said that occupational therapy programs are not a walk through the park. The first four semesters of bookwork and then two semesters of clinical. Emily said that she is really enjoying her time in this program. Her advice to people who are thinking about going to OT school is to get started right away on internships and volunteering. Emily said that she would advise people not to take a year off of school for work or something, but to jump right in and go for it!