Celebrating the little things

Making a cup of tea, taking a shower and gardening are daily activities most of us take for granted yet for some people they are life’s greatest challenges.

Otago Polytechnic occupational therapy student Ros Jennings is looking forward to a career “where people come first.”

In the third year of her Occupational Therapy Bachelor degree Ros believes she is making a difference enabling people to live meaningful and satisfying lives. She says, “The best thing about the course is being able to see the impact that we have working with people in their own daily lives.

“Being independent means different things to different people. Having the ability to come up with solutions or offering advice in certain situations is really awesome. It’s great to see people go ‘oh yeah I can’t cook a whole meal but I can help with preparation of the vegetables.’”

A career in occupational therapy offers variety working with people from all walks of life. Occupational therapists work with people with developmental disorders, intellectual disabilities and people recovering from accidents and illness assisting them in anything from dressing themselves and returning to work to gardening, relaxation techniques and having fun.

“At Otago Polytechnic they teach us not to focus on one area more than the other, instead they are viewed as being equally important.”

Occupational therapy is only offered in two places across New Zealand with one being the renowned School of Occupational Therapy at Otago Polytechnic.

“I chose Otago because I wanted to be a student in Dunedin rather than in Auckland. I don’t really fit the profile of what you would call a Dunedin Scarfie but I wanted to be down here and have the student experience. The occupational therapy department is quite a tight-knit wee community and the lecturers are really supportive.”

In the future Ros plans to unleash the skills she’s learnt at Otago Polytechnic by helping people within the mental health sector “celebrating the little things” each and every day.

“Occupational therapy is a lot about celebration – celebrating what you can do and the achievements that you have made.”