Professional Goals
Goals
Attend Professional School for Occupational Therapy
In the future I hope to attend school for Occupational Therapy and assist individuals with activities of daily living. I aspire to become an Occupational Therapist, because I desire to help others work toward their potential. In my career I hope to pursue my passion of making a positive impact on each person I meet, through providing quality and attentive care.
Eliminate Unnecessary Barriers in Healthcare
I hope to eliminate as many unnecessary barriers within healthcare as possible through my career; these barriers range from language to physical barriers. This goal stems from learning about the barriers present in health care that inhibit people from reaching their full potential. For example, many people do not receive the necessary care due to language barriers present. Occupational Therapists also help individuals with activities of daily living, which would enable me to help eliminate several physical barriers present in health care as well.
Become Fluent in Spanish
My goal is to become fluent in Spanish through going abroad to Spain or another Spanish speaking country to develop the skills necessary to eliminate these barriers. My original plan was to study abroad over the summer of 2020; however, the program was canceled. With the study abroad programs for the summer 2021 session being uncertain, I am currently looking into volunteer and service learning opportunities abroad in case I have to wait until post-graduation to become fully immersed in a Spanish speaking culture. I am currently taking Spanish for Health Care Professionals, which will aid in the completion of my minor and help me to apply Spanish in health care settings.
Participate in Occupational Therapy Shadowing Experiences
Within my undergraduate experience, I hope to shadow in various Occupational Therapy settings to gain more experience in the field. This will help me to exercise my passion of assisting others and determine which setting and with which population I would like to work with. I am hopeful that these opportunities will open up by the summer of 2021 to give me some more exposure to the field before applying to graduate school.
Connections to Goals
I have chosen each of my goals due to having a passion to pursue them. My passions do align with my skills and what I am good at doing, but I chose my goals on the basis of my passions. Throughout my life I have worked to develop skills that will help me to achieve my goals.
Each of my goals match what I enjoy doing because they build on my desire to help others. In the past through volunteer and work experiences, I have further developed my enjoyment in helping others to obtain a better quality of life.
I am very confident in my career choice of becoming an Occupational Therapist. To find out if these goals fit my strengths and explore this career pathway, I plan to gain more experience through shadowing in Occupational Therapy settings and establishing connections with Occupational Therapists. My internship will also allow me to expand on my strengths and develop transferrable communication skills into my future career.
Goals and Next Steps
Currently I am certain of my career goals of becoming an Occupational Therapist, because I have a passion for helping individuals reach their full potential and optimize their independence. My internship has contributed to my decision-making, because it has solidified how passionate I am about working with individuals with disabilities.
My career and academic goals have not changed throughout the school year. However, I have started to think about different opportunities I could have after graduation. Ideally, I would go right into graduate school after graduating with my undergraduate degree. If this does not work out, I could see myself going abroad for a few months after graduation to fully immerse myself in a Spanish-speaking culture. This would allow me to become fluent and do some volunteer or shadowing work abroad. After going abroad, I could see myself working to get into graduate school and working for a non-profit that assists individuals with disabilities.
To reach my goals I will need to continue studying for the GRE this semester. I plan to set aside two hours every week to prepare myself to take the GRE this summer. I will also work to stay updated on any opportunities available this semester to gain some shadowing experience in an Occupational Therapy setting.
From the LHSI mid-year workshop activities, I learned how important it is to practice mindfulness in everyday activities like eating. I also learned how practicing self-care can have an impact on several different areas of my life.