Occupational Therapy Personal Statement

With little memory of how my daily living skills were learned throughout childhood, I could hardly recall the exact steps that led me to performing a simple task like maneuvering my fingers to use chopsticks. Growing up in Vietnam, I had to learn many things by myself at an early age, including prepping for my own meals and learning to perform functional daily living skills. Fortunately, my grandfather was always around to teach me some cooking techniques in which learning how to rinse our rice before cooking was very crucial to ensuring a good start. In his early 60s, my grandfather’s hand motion was surprisingly quick and thorough when swirling his fingers around the inner of the rice pot as he separated the grains and residues apart. Reluctantly,

This includes picking up physical and mental self–care skills such as regular exercising, personal hygiene, mindfulness, and knowing how to seek support from others. As simple as this may sound, I soon realized that maximizing these self-care abilities requires one’s development to be healthy and actively practiced. As I entered university, I knew that the medical field would help me pursue my choice of career in the hope of sharing the knowledge and skills that I learn from school to others in need. That is when the field of occupational therapy took over my interest, as this domain is closely related to the values that evolved within me early on. Specifically, I desire to acquire knowledge that revolves around emotional regulation and the underlying mechanism of how brain development can impact one’s behavioral, physical, and the overall developmental outcome across the lifespan. I was intrigued to learn about the various developmental conditions of young children and how that plays a role in the child's social and personal

Seeing a child with hyperactivity disorder finding joy and relaxation through sensory regulation activities like swinging was truly rewarding and channels my passion for the field of occupational therapy. I strive to learn more about the knowledge and techniques that can be applied to individuals with emotional, physical, and developmental challenges by fulfilling and supporting one’s daily living conditions. As my family members are concentrated in the Northern regions of California, I initially found the USAHS Flex OT Program to be a great fit for me as I aspire to coordinate and balance my current work, school, and personal life schedules while having the flexibility to reach my family members during emergency situations. Furthermore, the discovery of the school’s teaching techniques soon brought me wonders with the technological advancement, including the use of stimulation during lessons to prepare students for real-life scenarios and that the faculty’s goal is to ensure that all students will be field-ready upon the completion of the