ABOUT
My name is Olivia Van Dyke, and I am a graduate of Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with my Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD). I am proud to have called Pittsburgh my home for the majority of my life, and I could not felt more at home than at Duquesne, where I was surrounded by incredible professors, friends, and communities.
When I first entered Duquesne as a freshman, I was majoring in Occupational Therapy, but I was not sure if it was the true career path for me. However, I was confident that I wanted to be involved in the field of Special Education, and I added this minor to my major. Following this decision, I started working at the Woodlands Foundation in Wexford, Pennsylvania at a 10-week long summer camp for individuals with disabilities and chronic illnesses. Being an employee at the Woodlands changed my entire perspective on OT, and I became certain that I wanted to pursue it as a career. As a summer camp counselor, I was trained to perform transfers, implement personal care, design inclusive activities, and immerse myself among a community of advocates for people with disabilities.
Since then, I have remained involved with the Woodlands and have chosen to make disability studies my focus through client-centered care as a future Occupational Therapist.
As a fifth year student of OT, I discovered that my strengths lie in my flexible interpersonal skills, my orientation to detail, and my compassion for OT as a profession. As I am entering the field of OT, my goal is to increase my cultural competency among different populations of clients, and to use my fieldwork and community-engaged learning opportunities to acquire hands-on skills that I will apply to my work with patients. During my Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD), I created a program called Operation Occupation, intended to help LGBTQIA+ individuals experiencing homelessness achieve their independent living goals at True T PGH. I feel as though Occupational Therapy is my calling, and I am both excited and grateful to be a part of such an influential field of professionals.
Personal Intent Statement: As I move into my career, I intend to take what I have learned through all of my fieldworks to create culturally-competent, holistic, and compassionate care of my patients. I hope to grow my skills in forms of leadership opportunities within the site that I choose to work, whether this be involvement in an organizing promoting diversity in the workplace or a group that advocates for patient rights, for example. I will take my strengths in advocacy, communication, and promoting diversity to my future employer and create a more positive, welcoming work environment. I plan to initiate long-term projects that will also benefit the workplace and set goals for myself to achieve them. It is my intent to grow, learn, and reflect on what I have gathered in my time at Duquesne, and bring all of my skills to helping my patients become independent and fulfilled.