Emerging Expertise

My final semester was the first time that I volunteered for the Motor Activity Clinic (MAC). The MAC is a program that offers physical activity programming for children with disabilities. It is run by IU Indianapolis students in a kinesiology course or volunteers. I previously took the class and worked in the Adapted Movement Program with adults with disabilities. That program is very similar and run the same way. It was such a fun class that I decided to come back as a volunteer, I am just disappointed that I didn't choose to volunteer for the program sooner. After taking the class and other experiences I have, I am able to help the current students that I am working with to better lead their client in activities. I help with communication and critical thinking when activities aren't going exactly to plan. When working with any client it is important to remember that activities might not always go the way that we planned them. Having the ability to adapt and come up with new ideas on the fly can be really valuable skills in my future profession. 

At Camp Brosius I participated in many challenges and activities that helped me become a better leader and critical thinker. To be honest I wasn't all that excited for camp when I first got there. I was happy to have planned to go with friends, so they made that aspect much better. I actually got really sick at the end of camp, and I still look back with happy memories, so that speaks a lot about the experience overall. I led a couple difficult activities with some success. The one challenge I remember the best was leading the "Pitching a Tent at Night" challenge. For this challenge the entire team was blindfolded and we had to work together to set up a tent. I was lucky enough to have set up a tent before, so I was able to use that knowledge to help me lead my team. I used good descriptive instructions to help my team that may have not set up a tent before. In the end we did not get that tent set up, but we were the team that got the closest! I experienced challenges that helped me build and strengthen my leadership and critical thinking skills. both of these skills being important for a career as an occupational therapist.