Although I am currently living in Chicago, I was born and raised in sunny southern California. In an effort to take advantage of the frequently perfect weather, my three siblings and I often stayed outside for hours and participated in countless activities: swimming, basketball, tae kwon do, bug catching… the list is endless! I seemed to have a passion for everything growing up, but my true passion became evident the first time I accompanied my mother, an occupational therapist, to the hospital. I was mesmerized watching her interact with all of the patients. Each patient was fighting a different, arduous battle, and yet each patient left smiling and thanking my mother. It was then that I realized I, too, wanted to devote my life to helping people and making them smile.
Keeping true to my passion, I’m completing my third year of undergraduate study in Kinesiology with a concentration in exercise science and health promotion at the University of Illinois at Chicago. I plan to continue my education in graduate school to obtain a M.S. in Occupational Therapy. This past year I have been fortunate enough to shadow a number of highly experienced occupational therapists and physical therapists in both clinical and home settings.
I am thrilled to join the CPERL team as a research intern. Not only will I be fulfilling experiential learning requirements for my major, but I will also be receiving invaluable insight and experience on how research is conducted and utilized in occupational therapy to improve the lives of children and families.
As a member of the team, I will be helping to establish the management of CPERL at UIC as well as helping to ensure rigor during the analysis of data for a formative study guiding the design of a pediatric web-based care planning guide.