Final Reflection on Social Justice

Following my undergraduate career, I followed my dream and moved back to Washington

State from Idaho. I have a lot of family and friends in the Seattle area and have always felt a
strong sense of belonging and community when visiting. I lived in Seattle for one short year
prior to moving to Henderson, Nevada to obtain my Masters of Science in Occupational Therapy.
To be honest, moving back to Seattle for level II fieldwork scared me because I did not feel as
strong in the occupational therapy (OT) community as I do in Nevada. The first thing I did prior
to moving back to Washington was join the Washington Occupational Therapy Association. I
feel that this was going to be the easiest and best way to fully immerse myself in the community.
During orientation at Touro University Nevada, it was apparent from day one how much
the school valued giving back to their community. One of the four core themes of the school is
dedicated to social justice work. I truly believe that the requirement to engage in at least one
social justice event per semester aided in my growth in the Nevada community, and I found
myself bringing this belief back with me when I moved to Seattle in the fall of 2015. I have a
large group of friends from undergraduate living in Seattle. Beginning in January of 2016, a
group of us dedicated ourselves to completing at least one volunteer project in the community a
month, we named this program Gift of Good. From this experience thus far I have learned more
about the needs of the Seattle community and have truly enjoyed enhancing my friendships in
this avenue.
An addition avenue that I would like to explore in Seattle is the Cystic Fibrosis
Foundation as well as the Pancreatic Cancer Foundation. One of my social justice artifacts was
participating in The Great Strides walk put on by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. A close friend
in graduate school has dedicated time, money, and energy to this charity and I would like to
continue to show my support in my Washington community. I plan to participate in the
PurpleStride walk in October of 2016 located in Seattle to show support and raise awareness for

pancreatic cancer. It has affected a close friend of mine, in turn affecting me, and I plan to
continue dedicating my support and raising awareness until a cure has been found.
I look forward to continuing to explore my love and support for the Seattle community
through various social justice opportunities. Giving back to the community provides me with a
sense of happiness and enhances self-awareness of the populations I may encounter as a future
OT.