JUSTINE RAINE S. YU

Educational background:

Tertiary Education

Velez College - B.S. Occupational Therapy

F. Ramos St. Cebu City, Cebu

August 2019 - Present

Secondary Education

Bethany Christian School

Guadalupe, Cebu City

S.Y 2017 - 2019

Bethany Christian School

Guadalupe, Cebu City

S.Y 2013 - 2016

Primary Education

Bethany Christian School

Guadalupe, Cebu City

S.Y 2007 - 2013

Achievements:

• College

Dean’s Lister First Semester - S.Y. 2019-2020

Dean’s Lister First Semester - S.Y. 2020-2021

Dean’s Lister Second Semester - S.Y. 2020-2021

Dean’s Lister First Semester - S.Y. 2021-2022

• Senior High School

Senior High: Class Salutatorian

Bethany Christian School Loyalty Award

• Junior High School

Class Salutatorian

2nd Place Copyreading and Headline Writing, Regional Schools Press Conference 2015

• Elementary

Class Valedictorian

My experience as an OT student in Velez College:

My experience of being an OT student has honestly been a rollercoaster ride. We were still 1st year students when the Covid-19 pandemic began. Once we were able to step into the school premises again, we were already towards the end of our 3rd year. We have spent most of our time in the online setting, and so we didn’t really have what others would call as a “traditional college experience.” At the start of our 1st year, it was a struggle adjusting to a completely new school with completely new people. We experienced this struggle once again as we shifted to the online means. Nevertheless, we tried to make the most of our time. We found alternative means of learning and communicating with our classmates. The whole situation was honestly quite stressful, but at the same time also unique. Throughout all the struggles, I would often remind myself of why I chose this course in the first place and all the people that I would be able to help in the practice. This motivated me to look beyond whatever difficulties we had and, just as Dory from Finding Nemo once said, just keep swimming.

My Component:

Livelihood Component

Planning CBH&R Programs:

At the very beginning, we were tasked to create a regarding the livelihood aspect of the participants. This included questions about whether they have been or are currently employed, their net income, what their interests were if they were to start their own business, and the like. I assisted in creating the questions as well as translating them into Bisaya. During the stakeholder’s meeting, I assisted in designing the powerpoint presentation. A short interview was conducted with the parents, and I was in charge of taking note of their answers. This was then used in the creation of the SWOT Analysis, Problem Tree, and Objective Tree.

Through this, I was able to learn about the current situation the participants are in including their struggles, interests, and desires. I have never met a child with cancer or a parent taking care of a child with cancer before, so I never knew their experiences. It was eye-opening because we were really able to see just how much all parents are willing to do for their children. The wellbeing of their children will always be their top priority, and despite whatever difficulties they experienced, they still kept going.

Designing of CBH&R Program:

As part of the survey results, it was mentioned that one of the areas of interest of the participants was on production of bags, bedsheets, and footwear. We decided to focus on bags, and so we ended up with a totebag making/designing activity. As we were preparing for the program, I was in charge of making the calendar of activities, designing the certificate of appreciation/ certificate of participation, and writing the invitation letter for the guest speaker.

I have never tried engaging in a community program before, so I didn’t really know about what happens in events like these. I was able to learn a lot from this experience and it made me realize just how important planning ahead of time is. We had a guideline of the expected outcomes in the days leading to the program, and so we would be able to track whether we were ahead or behind schedule already. I also realized that constant communication with your groupmates is very important. Everyone would be kept updated about whatever changes may occur and the group can immediately make adjustments as necessary.

Implementating of CBH&R Program:

During the actual program, I was part of the tech team. I was in charge of admitting the people into the meeting. I was also the one who was in charge of recording the meeting as part of the documentation process.

From the program, I realized just how much activities occur behind the scenes. When passively spectating a program, we don’t think much about how it was prepared. We just focus more on enjoying the program. Behind the scenes, everything is planned down up to the last minute. Seeing all the kids and parents happily participating in the activity felt really rewarding because it felt like we were really able to make a difference. The parents were eagerly listening and asking questions during the business talk, and it was also inspiring seeing their genuine interest in this.

Prior to enrolling in this course, I initially didn’t even know that we would be encountering a subject such as this one. All I knew was that OTs can usually be found in the hospitals or rehabilitation centers treating various forms of physical dysfunctions. One thing that I didn’t expect was that OTs also played a part in community rehabilitation. In the past subjects that we’ve covered, it was already mentioned how OTs also worked at a community level, such as through workshops and programs. However, I didn’t really know the full extent of what this entailed. The lessons throughout the semester gave me a deeper understanding of what this is really all about as well as our what our role is in this setting.

From our CBR program, I learned that prior to taking the first action, it is best that you already have a plan that would serve as your guide during the implementation phase. This can be done by first analyzing the community. You cannot provide a solution when you do not even know the problem in the first place. In this stage, we conducted assessments through various tools such as the SWOT, problem tree, and stakeholder analysis. Having this information is vital because we got to know what resources are available to assist us as well as which areas we can target.

The whole program took weeks of planning all the way down to the smallest detail. Throughout the days, we slowly worked together to come up with ideas, activities and the flow of the program. At first, thinking about all that needed to be done honestly felt overwhelming. Despite all the challenges we faced along the way, in the end, we were able to successfully do it. As the saying goes, “The best way to achieve big goals is to take small steps.” Seeing all our plans play out in the program and seeing the genuine happiness and interest in both the parents and the children felt really worthwhile. No matter how small, we really hope that we were able to make a difference in their lives.