April is National Occupational Therapy Month in the United States, and as one of Elizabethtown College’s largest majors, several events took place on campus for future occupational therapists (OTs).
Student Occupational Therapy Association (SOTA) was in charge of creating events around campus during the month. SOTA declared the week of April 9 as OT week and ran events each day.
They started by providing snacks in the OT work room for students hard at work with course material. The work room is a space for all OT students to talk together, meet for projects and simply hang out with other like-minded college students.
The second day of OT week, SOTA brought Keystone Pet Enhanced Therapy Services therapy dogs throughout the day for OT students to meet with. The therapy dogs were a reminder of the holistic nature of OT and the creative ways that therapy can be conducted in.
On Sunday, April 16, SOTA held their yearly banquet. This year’s speaker was Andy Jenks, a Paralympian with Team USA.
Jenks won a silver medal with the American goalball team in 2016. Goalball is a sport designed for blind or partially blind athletes, and is played in teams of three. Participants attempt to toss a ball with bells in it by hand into the other team’s goal.
Jenks was born with incomplete achromatopsia, which causes a decrease in vision, light sensitivity and partial color blindness. At the banquet, he spoke about his experience with disability, and his speech was impactful for all attendees, including sophomore Elena Kenvin.
“It was interesting to hear about ways to make people more knowledgeable about disabilities,” Kenvin said. “It’s not just wheelchair ramps or the things we traditionally think of with accessibility. We need to find better ways to accommodate people with a range of disabilities.”
Jenks spoke about his struggles in school, with teachers writing on the board, and feeling like he was missing bits of information. He also was forced to walk during gym class because he couldn’t participate in any of the sports played.
Members of SOTA got the opportunity to ask Jenks further questions about his time in the Paralympics, his experience with disability and his personal life.
The SOTA banquet also offered OTs an opportunity to celebrate the end of a hard year.
“With SOTA in general, it’s just an environment to always have OTs interact with one another,” Kenvin said. “It’s so nice to celebrate the end of the year and share the knowledge we’ve learned at the banquet.”
Kenvin hopes to become an OT, a desire fueled by her own experiences.
“I went through OT in seventh grade for my migraines, and I ended up enjoying it,” Kenvin said. “I liked the holistic viewpoint the therapist had and how kind they were, and I really enjoyed the methods in which they did things.”
After her experience in occupational therapy, Kenvin started considering her own career path and how she could help others the way that her OT helped her. She stresses the importance of OTs in the world.
“It’s all about helping you get back to doing the things you love and your general daily activities,” Kenvin said. “If someone has a disability it’s our job to help modify and be there for them to help them participate in what they love.”
She drew on the words of Jenks at the SOTA banquet, who told attendees that it’s not just about finding an accommodation—it’s about finding a solution.
Kenvin encourages anyone considering OT to look further into it.
“There’s so many different varieties of OT, and there are really endless possibilities,” Kenvin said. “It’s a great way to help the general population and learn about all kinds of people.”
There are also many jobs in the field. According to the National Bureau of Labor Statistics, the field of occupational therapy is projected to increase by 14% in the next decade, which is faster than average.
As Etown continues to produce the top OTs in the field, the College exemplifies its motto to educate for service.
