With approximately 2,000 students, it is difficult to meet every single person enrolled at Elizabethtown College. This week, get to know Megan Manion, the graduate student enrolled in Etown’s 3+2 master’s program for occupational therapy.
Manion hails from Willow Street, Pennsylvania, and, like many others, was drawn to Etown for its accredited Occupational Therapy program. Etown’s Occupational Therapy program is the second oldest program to be recognized by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education of American Occupational Therapy Association.
Being drawn to the medical field from a young age, yet never having any interest in being a nurse or a doctor, Manion landed on occupational therapy.
“The medical field always had a draw to me, but I was never interested in being a nurse or doctor. I’m not a big fan of blood or high-intensity life-saving situations,” Manion said. “At first, I thought about physical therapy, but I liked how occupational therapy helped people in a more personal way, allowing patients to do what worked for them.”
Manion’s career goals include working as an occupational therapist in a hospital setting. However, this degree didn’t come without its challenges. Manion notes that while in undergraduate school, she found it difficult to manage an adequate school-life balance. “I spent a lot of time with friends and kind of neglected my schoolwork sometimes,” Manion said.
The transition from high school to college didn’t prove to be easy either. Manion noted another source of procrastination in college being the increased free time she was given and trying to adjust.
“Having a lot of free time compared to high school made me have to figure out how to spend my time productively,” Manion said. “I struggled finding the motivation to get work done and ended up procrastinating a lot of my assignments.”
Despite the struggles with procrastination and transition, Manion graduated in 2025 with her Bachelor of Science in Health Science.
Manion has found that graduate school comes with its own set of challenges. The free time she was given in undergraduate school was lost when she entered graduate school. “These assignments can’t be put off until the last minute,” Manion said. “They require a lot more time, effort, and critical thinking to complete.”
The assignments Manion has been given carry a heavy workload and are all of high importance. “It is harder for me to manage time between assignments because a lot of the assignments are due around the same time, and they are all heavy assignments.”
Etown’s Occupational Therapy program was not the only factor Manion considered when choosing her school. The close-knit campus and welcoming community were selling points that supported her decision.
“When I toured the campus, I loved the layout and how everything was so close together,” Manion said. The college being local was also a deciding factor, as Manion is close with her twin sister, Jenna, and she said being close to home was important.
Elizabethtown College will soon say goodbye to Manion as she will go on to build her life and career after graduating with her Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy in May 2026.
