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Tell us about your Doctoral Capstone. What were your responsibilities and what did a typical day look like for you?

My capstone is primarily focused on working with the second-year Occupational Therapy students to develop their critical reasoning skills and increase their confidence in Treatment Planning and Pediatric material.

On Wednesday and Thursday mornings, I’m in the Pediatrics II class with the students. You'll find me presenting lecture material, facilitating lab activities, or out at one of the two Des Moines public schools we are partnered with where I deliver group intervention activities.

Outside of class, I spend most of my days planning out the lecture and lab content for the next Pediatrics class, grading assignments, meeting and interviewing prospective Occupational Therapy students at admission and visit days, meeting with faculty or students, and assisting with first-year Occupational Therapy practicums or the first-year Health Sciences Professional Connection class.

What is your favorite thing about the capstone?

Working with the second-year Occupational Therapy students to develop their critical reasoning with Pediatric material and beyond. It’s been really rewarding to see the pieces come together and to work with them to develop their own professional identities!

What attracted you to Drake's OTD program?

I absolutely loved Drake’s admission process! When I was being interviewed, I honestly felt as though Drake wanted to know more about who I was as a person and not as a statistic.

Beyond the interview, however, I was really drawn to Drake’s community engagement. During my time at Drake, I’ve been able to gather real-world experience even while in the classroom through working with children at local schools, Life Skills clients from ChildServe, and adults from Central Iowa Mosaic!

How has Drake helped you prepare for your future career as an occupational therapy professional?

Drake has given me a safe environment to branch out and develop my professional identity while learning the skills necessary to become an entry-level practitioner. Not only have all of my fieldwork placements been amazing (I’ve spent time in outpatient and inpatient pediatrics, inpatient and outpatient adults, an inpatient mental health facility, and an adaptive horseback riding site!) but Drake has fantastic community partners and I’ve had a great experience developing my skills through those partnerships even prior to beginning my fieldwork!

What are your career goals? Have they changed at all since you started Drake's OTD program?

I came into Drake’s program with an open mind towards all aspects of Occupational Therapy. I already knew that I enjoyed pediatrics, but I wanted to see what other areas and opportunities were out there for me as a future practitioner. While I may still have a love for peds, I’ve also found a love for higher education and for aquatic therapy. The current plan is to achieve my aquatic therapy certification within five years and return to education in the next ten years as a faculty member rather than a student.

What is one piece of advice you would give to future occupational therapy students?

Be open to all areas of Occupational Therapy! Don’t pigeonhole yourself into one specific practice area. Make an effort to learn everything you can while you have the ability to do so. You’ll never know if you're interested in pursuing a different area if you don’t take the time to learn about it first! 

(Also, be sure to invest in a good planner!)