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I had the opportunity to run a community program with older adults at the Trinitarian Congregational Church (TCC) in Norton, Massachusetts. This program worked with retirees (60+) to provide fall prevention and energy conservation techniques, technology skills for real life application, and interactive meal preparation skills. The program offered an inclusive environment for community engagement, socialization, and occupational participation.

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Community Program Design: Senior Savvy Seedlings 

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Community Program Design: Senior Savvy Seedlings 

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AT: Non-Slip Hand Grip for Shower Bottles 

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AT: Non-Slip Hand Grip for Shower Bottles 

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AT: 2-in-1 Newspaper Stand and Book Page Opener

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AT: 2-in-1 Newspaper Stand and Book Page Opener

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LTG: Within one year of graduation, I will have become a registered and licensed Occupational Therapist in the state of Massachusetts evidenced by my job position within a facility.
STG: Within six months of graduation, I will have have passed the NBCOT exam evidenced by a passing score.

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LTG: Within three years of graduation, I will have earned my Certified Autism Specialist (CAS) certificate through the IBCCES to further my knowledge and credentials.
STG: Within two years of graduation, I will have completed 30 hours of continuing education that relates directly to child development by reading articles or taking online courses.

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My name is Kaleigh Grzenda and I am an Occupational Therapy Graduate Student at Worcester State University. When the time came for me to begin thinking about my future and career route I wanted to take, I always knew I aspired to work within healthcare. However, it was not until my senior year of high school where I sat down with one of my teachers where I decided Occupational Therapy was the career choice for me. I remember discussing with my teacher some routes that I was interested in taking, including PT, psychology, and radiology. My teacher mentioned her daughter was working as an OT, and as I was very unfamiliar with what it was at the time, she and I did some research together. After only a few minutes of researching what OT entails, I was interested almost immediately. OTs encompasses everything I aspire to be; someone who is able to help individuals of all ages engage in their meaningful activities. As I have progressed further into my education as well as dipped my toe into OT experiences (such as working as a PCA and level I fieldwork opportunities), I know more than ever that this is the career for me.

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As I progress in my educational career, I have had the opportunity to develop my own personal philosophy that has guided me towards accomplishment of my goals. Above all, I am someone who believes that the only way to learn is by doing and mistakes are always welcome in the process. For myself personally, this thought process has enabled me to mature and grow in various aspects of my life. I used to fear stepping out of my comfort zone, afraid that I was bound to make mistakes that would result in judgement from those around me. However, once I was able to adjust this mindset, I have been able to accomplish much more than I ever thought I was capable of. I believe this is such an important philosophy to have, especially as an OT when working with clients, because so many individuals are afraid to make mistakes. As an OT, I hope to encourage my clients to step out of their comfort zone and make mistakes to further their knowledge and skills because in the end, there is so much pride with accomplishing a task you may have not believed you could do.

Another one of my personal philosophies and core values is to always, no matter what, be open-minded. To be closed-minded is to limit so many opportunities that may come your way. Whether in your personal or professional life, taking an open-minded approach will not only allow you to better understand others, but also give others the chance to better understand you. As OTs, we work with clients who will differ in every aspect possible so remaining open-minded when treating them will allow myself to remain client-centered and free from assumptions that may alter my decision-making.

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One course that has enhanced my knowledge in curricular threads, such as clinical reasoning, is community health. Within this course, I was able to assess the needs of a certain population and determine a program to implement with them that addressed their needs as a population as well as their individual needs. As this was my first opportunity to do this, I was able to learn an incredible amount about how to identify client problems to determine effective treatment (activities that improved the population's participation and performance). After implementing this program, I feel much more confident in my ability to utilize clinical reasoning skills to address a client's needs/problems, determine effective treatment, and establish desired outcomes.

A second course that I believe helped to solidify my clinical reasoning skills is physiological therapeutic approaches. As this course was based heavily on formulating treatment plans based on client needs, I was able to build upon my skills by collecting information on a specific client and determining the most beneficial treatment plan for that individual. Although these were hypothetical clients, the treatment plans required significant thought and consideration for what was ethical for each specific diagnosis.

Lastly, though it was included in multiple courses, my level I fieldwork opportunities really helped to build the foundation of my clinical reasoning skills. In each fieldwork setting (psychosocial, phys/dis, older adults, and pediatrics), I was able to experience real-life application of the skills that I had been learning since freshman year. Specifically for my pediatric fieldwork, I had the opportunity to generate ideas for activities for a school classroom of adolescents with disabilities. After attending the school the first time, I was able to assess their cognitive and physical abilities and determine what was going to be a beneficial activity when visiting again. It was rewarding to take all the knowledge I had learned and apply it to what I was implementing with the adolescents.

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LTG: Within five years of graduation, I will have earned a job position at Boston Children's Hospital by showcasing the qualifications necessary.
STG: Within four years of graduation, I will have attended a seminar, lecture, or professional conference regarding pediatric acute care for my CEUs to further my competence.

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One strength that I have is flexibility, and I respond very well to unpredictable changes and transitions. When schedules or agendas do not always go exactly as planned, I am confident in my ability to quickly react and offer alternative solutions. I have been able to build upon this skill working as a PCA because my client demonstrates unpredictable behavior that often results in us needing to change plans on the spot. Although at first I would become flustered, I no longer experience difficulty with thinking of an alternate plan in real-time. A second strength I see in myself is having effective written and verbal communication skills. I feel as though my experience working as a PCA as well as my level I fieldwork placements have allowed me to build upon these skills, including, active listening, building rapport, and empathy.

However, there are some aspects of effective communication that I could use some improvement, such as public speaking. Although my public speaking skills have continued to increase throughout my undergraduate and graduate courses, I still tense up when speaking in front of a group. To resolve this, I can work to increase my readiness through repetitions or rehearsals. A second area of improvement for myself is understanding how to receive feedback and also provide it. Receiving feedback can sometimes be difficult for me especially if the intentions are not clear. Similarly, I can sometimes be hesitant to provide feedback due to uncertainty of how the other person will interpret it.