SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Springfield Technical Community College students put a spotlight on Occupational Therapy Month in April with an educational exhibit in the forum of the Student Learning Commons on April 19.
The students in the Occupational Therapy Assistant program also created a video about their program. Watch the video here on STCC’s YouTube channel.
Professor Laurie Cecchi and her students also took time to speak on STCC Around, which is broadcast on WTCC, 90.7 FM.
“We are so excited to announce that we are celebrating National Occupational Therapy month, which is every April,” Cecchi said. “Our profession is more than a 100 years old, and STCC has one of the top occupational therapy assistant programs in New England.”
The students described what OTAs do to help people.
OT’s work to improve task functioning associated with daily living for all ages, clients learn and or relearn how to independently perform meaningful activities with therapeutic interventions and education, student Mickaelah Simpson said.
“OT’s work with an interdisciplinary team to find creative and scientifically proven approaches to enhance quality of life for all,” she added.
Student Isabelle Senn said, “I think the program is really great, because we’re all provided with one-on-one support, and are given all the necessary resources and guidance needed to succeed. We’re also given the opportunity to participate in a hands-on clinical experience that provides us with quality career based education, which will help us later in the field.”
Professor Cecchi noted that opportunities abound in the Occupational Therapy Assistant field. “You can work at a hospital. You can work in the schools. You can work in rehabilitation, home care, early intervention. There’s a number of community-based mental health settings, opportunities in orthopedics and ergonomics, and also skilled nursing facilities. It’s more than a job. It’s a career.”
Learn more about the Occupational Therapy Assistant program. Visit stcc.edu/explore/programs/occp.as/.
