How Did I Get Here?

Here’s something I recently found out I enjoy doing: sharing my path to becoming an occupational therapist. Up until about a year ago, my Instagram page was solely pictures of my son, my dog, vacations with my husband… basically, it was an Internet photo album. Then, one day, it occurred to me that I had a decent amount of knowledge in the field of occupational therapy. I was working part time, and posting about OT on Insta felt like a great way to meet fellow OTs and keep my passion for the field alive. Thus, @ThatOT_MomLife was born.

But let’s rewind. How exactly did I become an occupational therapist? Well, if we’re being honest, it all began in high school 20 years ago (you do the math…). I was in the National Honor Society, and with that came required volunteer hours. I opted to do mine at a pediatric convalescent center, and I absolutely fell in love. I spent every spare minute that I could volunteering there (Kentucky friends, it’s called Home of the Innocents — it’s an amazing organization, look them up). I worked with an occupational therapist and thought she had the coolest job ever. Though when I went off to college, that fell by the wayside. My interests and dreams changed, and I decided to major in English with the plan to be a broadcast news anchor upon graduation. Done, perfect. I finished my degree, complete with a two-semester-long internship in the Sports department of the ABC affiliate in Milwaukee (WISN, what’s good!). Upon graduation, I landed a job as the morning news producer for a station in Wausau, Wisconsin. From there, I went to Albany, New York and finally Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It was in Harrisburg that I realized my heart was no longer in the game. I was only 25, and I was burnt the heck out. I quit my job, signed a non-compete, and moved in with my parents.

This might show my age (again), but who here has heard of the musical Avenue Q? Well, call it the soundtrack of my life at that point in time, especially when you consider there is actually a number called “What Do You Do With a BA in English?” I struggled for about a year, trying to figure out what my next path was. After much agonizing, my mother pointed out that I had given up my dream of becoming an occupational therapist, and what a coincidence, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee had one of the country’s top OT programs! It seemed meant to be! But…

Pre requisites. Eff. Turns out that a BA does NOT equal a BS. There were five classes I needed to take: Anatomy and Physiology I and II; Physics; Human Life Cycle; Statistics; Psychology. I had taken zero classes like those when I was a true undergraduate. Additionally, you had to get good grades in those classes because the OT program was selective. People did not get in. Well, that wasn’t going to be me. I buckled down, and armed with those grades and 75+ hours of community service done in a “push in” (IYKYK) nursery school, I applied. And I was accepted! Great! And then…

3.5 more years of school! I was granted senior status since I had my BA, but at the time, UWM was a BS/MS program. That means that you did two years of undergraduate work to earn your BS in Occupational Sciences and then, provided you kept your grades up and met the requirements, you were automatically admitted to the MS in Occupational Therapy program. Whew! It was hard work. I postponed a lot of — what are to me — mile markers of adulthood: engagement, marriage, owning a home, having a baby. While I met my now husband during my “gap year,” once I was accepted into OT school we agreed not to make too many of these moves until I finished. He’s patient and I’m stubborn!  It all worked out though.

So here I am! Eight years after I finished that MSOT… and I’ve decided to return to UWM to earn yet another degree. I guess I just can’t stay away.