Katie Knapp, President
With spring here, the end of the semester and graduation are right around the corner! Keep working hard until the end of the semester and enjoy all that everyone has accomplished this year. SOTA has been able to continue traditions and establish new traditions. We are very excited for the first annual job fair and invite everyone to attend and spread the word. Keep up the hard work and enjoy the spring weather.
Job Fair Committee
Did you hear that SOTA is hosting a Job Fair? And it’s going to be HUGE! Okay, maybe not huge, but it will definitely be great. It will be on Thursday, May 1 st from 5-9pm at MSC. We currently have 15 vendors attending the Job Fair to recruit for occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, physical therapists, and speech and language pathologists. The vendors are coming from all over the Midwest —including Minneapolis , Illinois , Milwaukee , and right here in Madison . We are asking any OT students that want to display their culinary skills to make a dessert for the vendors’ dinner that we are providing. Please contact Emily Schoolmeesters if you wish to bring a dessert.
Summer Shepstone, Assembly of Student Delegates Representative
Summer Shepstone has become the Project Leader for part of the “You are the Future” Initiative from the AOTA Steering Committee and Assembly of Student Delegates. She has been working to help formulate plans for the coming year to increase the public’s awareness of Occupational Therapy. The annual ASD meeting takes place the two days prior to the AOTA conference. Please fill out the surveys to provide the national student body with your input on the “You are the Future” Initiatives.
Community Outreach Committee
March was filled with first year MSOT students planning and performing Community Outreach events as part of their Professional Skills class. Outreach events range from health fairs, career fairs, creating informational pamphlets and videos, media coverage and many more. Seven of our students will be attending the annual American Occupational Therapy Association conference. Our class of 2008 treasurer, Eric Ayala presented to the ASM panel to acquire a $1000.00 grant for those attending the conference. We are all looking forward to Spring and April is OT month! April will be filled with events including an Interdisciplinary event that is being planned in conjunction with the Physical Therapy and Medical Students. Stays tuned for next months updates, and educate someone around you in the spirit of OT month.
Service Committee
SOTA agreed to establish a permanent relationship with the The Candlelighters Support Group. This group is for families with children with a diagnosis of cancer. It is a parent support group that is held on the 1st Wednesday of every month. SOTA volunteers will do arts and crafts and other structured activities with the children while the parents are in the meeting. The group will meet at 5:30-8pm at Vintense Golfland. There will be a wide range of children aging 2 - 14yrs old. The kids include children with cancer and their siblings. Our role is to perform activities with the children that cannot or do not want to run and play the many free games available to them.
Other events available to our SOTA members include:
Hammer with a Heart on Saturday, May 3, 2008 . Each May, Project Home coordinates Hammer with a Heart, a fund raising event that provides major repairs for approximately 8-10 homes of low-income families, elderly and disabled homeowners who live in Dane County .
Special Olympics Area Athletics Meet, Saturday April 12, 2008 . Over 150 athletes will compete at the Waunakee High School Aquatic Center on Saturday April 12, 2008 for a chance to qualify for the Special Olympics Wisconsin State Summer Games in June.
Social Committee
There are some great opportunities to socialize available during April OT month! With spring break, not a lot was planned in March, but April looks to be a great month to get to know your fellow classmates. There will be run/walks, movie nights, and roller derbies. We will be able to do an interdisciplinary “gathering” at a Brewer’s game with the PT students. What happens at Miller Park stays at Miller Park ! (Unless there’s a historian around to take a picture!) And finally, we are taking the social scene to a whole new level with the first ever ALPS ropes course! We are still looking for OTs to participate in this event—contact Emily Schoolmeesters if you are interested in this exciting event!
