Olivia Elzey

Second-year Occupational Therapy Assistant Student

Hometown: Wentzville, Missouri

Describe your dream OTA job: I have always had a passion for working with individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. However, as of now, I really enjoy the psychosocial portion of the program, and I think bringing mindfulness techniques and opportunities to improve quality of life in communities with a lower socioeconomic status would be really exciting.

Advice for future students: Trust in your abilities, and don’t be afraid to share ideas. The field of OT is huge and ever changing, so be creative and ask for help if you ever need it.

Madisyn Hoehn

Second-year Occupational Therapy Assistant Student

Hometown: O’Fallon, Missouri

Describe your path to occupational therapy: I have always wanted to work in the health care field ever since I began thinking about working. Not only did I want to work in the health care field, but I always dreamt of working and helping with kids. Once I found out about Occupational Therapy, I knew it was exactly what I wanted to do. This profession allows me to help all ages with a variety of different diagnoses.

Describe your dream OTA job: My dream OTA job would be to work in the hospital. I had my first fieldwork rotation at the University Hospital and I really enjoyed the fast pace environment and seeing patients make gradual improvements.

Sydney Carlisle

First-year Occupational Therapy Student

Hometown: Carthage, IL

Describe your favorite part of the program and/or profession: My favorite part about the program is truly the community that exists within. All of the professors and staff are so personable and passionate about OT. They consistently speak from real-life experiences in practice, facilitate thoughtful discussion, and encourage critical thinking. Additionally, my class is another one of my favorite things. While there are 44 of us it feels as though our class is much smaller because of how much we all have connected one-on-one. Being able to share and relate to those who have similar goals and interests on a daily basis has been so fulfilling and I truly have found life-long friends through MUOT.

Advice for future students: My advice for future students would be to work hard and remember you are capable of more than you think, it just takes some determination, discipline, and hard work.

Tamaya Carter-Moore

First-year Occupational Therapy Student

Hometown: Milwaukee, WI

Describe your path to occupational therapy: I first discovered occupational therapy when my cousin was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. After seeing how an occupational therapist impacted my family’s life, I knew I wanted to do the same for others.

Describe why you chose MUOT: I applied to the Mizzou undergraduate program with the intention of being a part of the OT program. What drew my attention to the Mizzou OT program was the hands-on opportunities available on-site. I wanted to ensure I attended a school that would set me up to succeed out in practice.

Anna Kirby

First-year Occupational Therapy Student

Hometown: Columbia, MO

Describe why you chose MUOT: I chose MUOT because of the unique opportunity to be a part of their 3+3 program, which allows me to enter the OT program a year earlier, and thus graduate a year earlier than normal. Also, I went to Mizzou for my undergrad and loved the campus environment I found here and knew I wanted to continue my experience here post-undergrad.

Advice for future students: Don’t be afraid to talk to your professors and ask them questions. They are there to help you and only want to see you succeed.

Reagan Lehenbauer

First-year Occupational Therapy Student

Hometown: Palmyra, MO

Describe your path to occupational therapy: I have always known I wanted to be in a career that allowed me to work with people by helping and teaching them, but I was not quite sure what job was the right fit for me. In high school, my job shadowing teacher told me I should observe an occupational therapist because she thought that profession would be a really good fit for me. I immediately fell in love because I could be of service to many different types of people and guide them through the process of engaging in activities that are meaningful to them.

Describe your dream OT job: My dream job is in a school setting in or around my hometown, but I will be happy anywhere I can use the skills I learn in the program to be of service to the population.

Shelby Webster

First-year Occupational Therapy Student

Hometown: Camdenton, MO

Describe why you chose MUOT: I chose MU OT because it was the closest doctoral occupational therapy program near my hometown, and it was the best financial option for me. MU OT has an amazing reputation, and I had great conversations with an MU OT alumnus who had nothing but amazing things to say about the program.

Describe your dream OT job: My dream OT job would include a position where I can work with individuals with disabilities who want to participate in physical activity or recreational sports. Adaptive physical activity and recreational sports have so many unique opportunities for occupational therapists to assist in, and I would love to be able to use my Exercise Science background, alongside my passion for OT, to help individuals who value the same things that I do.

Gabriel Hixson

First-year Occupational Therapy Student

Hometown: Osage Beach, Missouri

Describe your path to occupational therapy: I was originally an accounting major, but I changed after my first year to health sciences because my family introduced me to occupational therapy. I immediately fell in love with the profession of occupational therapy because of how creative it can be.

Describe your favorite part of the program and/or profession: My favorite part of the program has to be the virtual reality (VR) goggles and experimenting with them. These VR goggles have a virtual cadaver that we utilize to visualize and learn about human anatomy. While using them, there are a variety of tools like highlight, pins, and removal. Those tools helped me enhance my comprehension and application.

Olivia Heflin

First-year Occupational Therapy Student

Hometown: Washington, Illinois

Describe your path to occupational therapy: I came into college unsure of what I wanted to do with my future. After taking a career exploration class, I discovered the possibility of going into a therapy related field and began shadowing. I fell in love with occupational therapy because of the creativity of the field, and the opportunity to help people every day to regain their independence, allowing them to participate in meaningful everyday activities.

Describe why you chose MUOT: I chose MUOT because of the unique opportunities that the program offers for hands on learning and I was able to apply to the 3+3 program, allowing me to start OT school in my senior year of college.

Karalyn Karjala

First-year Occupational Therapy Student

Hometown: Emporia, Kansas

Describe why you chose MUOT: I chose MUOT because I felt like I was at home as soon as I stepped on campus for my OT facility tour. The atmosphere radiates supportiveness and family. Additionally, I loved how the MUOT curriculum had so many opportunities to practice with clients in a learning environment.

Describe your favorite part of the program and/or profession: My favorite part of the program is the hands-on activities and labs we do in our classes. These activities have helped and supported my learning.

Kayla Luther

First-year Occupational Therapy Student

Hometown: Aledo, Illinois

Describe why you chose MUOT: I initially chose MUOT because I love how our program emphasizes hands-on learning. I continue to choose MUOT because of the amazing people in the program. Since orientation, it has been clear to me that everyone within the program shares a passion for the profession, and that everyone genuinely wants each other to succeed.

Describe your favorite part of the program and/or profession: As I mentioned before, my favorite part of the program is the people in it. I feel comfortable with everyone in my cohort, and I really like how we support each other through both the fun and challenging times. I think my favorite part about the profession is that I get to help people continue and/or learn to do the things that are most meaningful to them.

Samantha Tankersley

First-year Occupational Therapy Student

Hometown: Webb City, Missouri

Describe your path to occupational therapy: I was not always interested in occupational therapy, nor did I even know what it was. I wanted to be a teacher for the longest time, but then I got a job in high school working for the local Boys and Girls Club. This is where I discovered I did not want to be in charge of 20-30 kids for 8 hours a day. After this realization, I took a quiz online for healthcare jobs that I could be a good fit for, and occupational therapy was one of
them. I then shadowed a few local OTs and started a final project for my senior year comp class. This project focused on occupational therapy with kids with autism. Through this project, I shadowed and interviewed an OT working at a center for autism where I absolutely fell in love with the profession.

Advice for future students: My advice is to shadow in as many areas as you can because OT stretches into so many areas.

Avery Utterson

First-year Occupational Therapy Student

Hometown: Denver, Colorado

Describe your path to occupational therapy: I heard about occupational therapy in high school from a family member that was in OT school. After hearing about the variety of settings and populations you can work with as an OT and how much of an impact you have on patients, I knew it was something I would love to pursue.

Describe your dream OT job: As of right now, my dream is to be a pediatric OT in a school.

Madelynn Manche

First-year Occupational Therapy Student

Hometown: St. Peters, Missouri

Describe why you chose MUOT: Since I went to Mizzou for undergrad, I had already fallen in love with the campus. When I began looking at the OT programs around Missouri none of them stuck out to me as much as Mizzou. I really liked how Mizzou offered a clinic so students could get hands on training early on in the program!

Describe your favorite part of the program and/or profession: My favorite part of the program at Mizzou is how caring all the professors are. They truly care about the students and are willing to go out of their way to make sure you succeed.

Hannah Grissom

First-year Occupational Therapy Student