Getting back in the grad school groove

Well now that the blizzard has come and gone, we are back in the groove of classes again. The Capstone groups are working their project's by setting deadlines, meeting with their mentors, and balancing their capstone work with the other classes. Today we had our first Med Con II test, and the full time students have had their Kinesiology test with their movement lab checkouts coming up soon. Each week in my planner has been slammed full thus far- which is good and bad, but I am sure the whole class's planners are similarly slammed full.

The picture (left) is on Rockhurst's campus right outside of Van Ackeren (where PT/OT faculty's offices are). Since the snowman doesn't have legs- how do you think he got up on the bench? discuss.



Since we had a day off classes- during the snowmageddon- I decided to enjoy the lovely weather by reading, what else...but my Willard & Spackman book (on the back deck). (it's kind of a big deal in the RU OT curriculum)




OTS thoughts: Since I am not a qualified and registered Occupational Therapist or licensed (OTR/L), I thought I would change this section to OTS (OT student) thoughts. This is to both give credit where credit is due and also to show that my expertise is only to the extent of education that I have completed thus far.

My occupational balance has thus far in the semester has been doing pretty well. I have been exercising more, studying more, eating well, and getting more hours of sleep per night. My next post will hopefully include how I believe that 'shoveling snow' is an occupation- to show some of my facebook friends that live in warmer climates that we don't exactly get a 'day off' when a blizzard hits the midwest.

Baby it's cold outside

Welcome back- So KC got hit by 'Snowmageddon' or as others have deemed the blizzard of 2011 as the 'Snopocalypse' and RU closed the campus for 2 days. I snapped this picture in my car of a chilly temperature of -2 on my way heading into class. The cold makes it a little rougher to be a student and make the 40+ minute drive to campus from South KC.






This is the main entrance into RU- right off Troost. I was working late on a project after classes due to our snow days. Hence the large snow pile in front in the Rockhurst crest.










Here is another winter picture that was taken between the Library and Sedgwich Hall looking over the shoulder of St. Ignatius of Loyola (statue obviously) across from Massman Hall. I will be commenting on the library in later posts because it is one of my favorite spots to study on campus. The statue is a newer statue that has been put up within the past 6 months, but the picture shows the beauty of RU's campus at night (even when it is covered with snow).





OT Thoughts: Class is picking up with the first round of quizzes underway and each capstone group getting a better idea of what is in store over the next year. My OT thoughts for this blog is from the OT student perspective and my hopes are to cover more in future posts. Things to come in future blogs are my favorite study areas, how our KELS in St. LUCIA capstone project is going, and more 'snow occupations.'

Break (post Christmas/pre New Years)

Now that the Christmas holiday and events are over I am starting to look into how I am going to spent the rest of my break. I am setting my game plan to enjoy the rest of break while staying on top of my assignments for our Capstone group (more info in future blogs). This is difficult to find the balance between doing things that I enjoy and doing things that I need to stay on top of so that our capstone is on pace for the research and development portion that will take place over the next couple of months. I am hoping to 'recharge my battery' by getting out of KC for a few days to central Kansas and then onto Denver. The weather has been pretty crazy in Kansas City- there has been minimal snow and the temperature today has gotten up to around 59 degrees. Happy New Year.

Christmas Break/Welcome

Welcome. This is my first blog entry so I thought I would take it as an opportunity to say 'hello', 'Merry Christmas' (as I am on break), and 'Welcome' to my blog.

I am a new blogger to this forum and have been chosen to give you a tour into the Masters Program of Occupational Therapy at Rockhurst. I am a part-time student, I have worked for 2 years in public health before going back to school, I am a male (obviously) in a mostly female field (OT), I am originally from Illinois and am a resident of Kansas. If any of these seem interesting or as though we relate, PLEASE follow the blog. My goals and objectives for this blog are to inform you (the reader) of what RU OT Masters program looks like, what OT is, and how I am working to find a balance in life between school, work, and my personal life.

Thanks for checking out the blog and feel free to post comments, questions, or suggestions as this blog will be a learning progress through the semester and my career at RU.

-John