The annual Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) pinning ceremony commenced on Saturday, May 13 in the DeMattias Performance Hall, followed by a reception in the Gorges Atrium. The ceremony honored the completion of coursework and the beginning of two professional internships for students in the program. Students will receive their degrees in December 2017 upon completion of the internships.
Assistant Professor and Director of the OT program Clint Stucky said in his welcome speech that, “It takes a special kind of person to choose a career in Occupational Therapy. [It takes] someone who is willing to look personal tragedy in the face, and see possibilities, and to do that again and again and again. We are grateful, then, for these students — for their hands and hearts and minds trained in the Art and Science of Occupational Therapy.
“May they go out and, as our university mission statement says, ‘transform society’ one person, one family, one community at a time, by transforming disability into ability, self-confidence, and fuller participation in society.”
The spring 2017 OTA students are:
- Emma Albert — Sylvia, Kan.
- Miranda Barclay — Ark City, Kan.
- Dustin Burke — Liberal, Kan.
- Kelsey Crawford — Wichita, Kan.
- Jeffery Drewes — Gaviota, Calif.
- Alyssa Everett — Wichita, Kan.
- Jessi (Kristen) Green — Whitewater, Kan.
- Anna Harre — Wichita, Kan.
- Clarissa Hayward — Wichita, Kan.
- Allie Hipp — Ellsworth, Kan.
- Sierra Madrigal — Wichita, Kan.
- Tyler Mies — Andale, Kan.
- Regan Parsons — Dodge City, Kan.
- Becky Porter — Wichita, Kan.
- Sarah Roe — Wichita, Kan.
- Jessica Schmidt — Wichita, Kan.
- Cierra Tjaden — Waverly, Neb.
- Johanna Amal Tsubaki — Wichita, Kan.
