Assembly of Student Delegates Steering Committee Elections

Once a year, students nationwide can nominate themselves or another student to be an AOTA volunteer for the Assembly of Student Delegates Steering Committee (ASDSC). The ASDSC is a 2-year-long position held by OT or OTA students that represents the general student body at a national level. The ASDSC holds monthly meetings in addition to meetings with the Committee the position is appointed to. The ASDSC also hosts Tri-Annual Zoom meetings with Student Occupational Therapy Association (SOTA) ASD reps from OT and OTA programs nationwide. The agenda of these meetings is to discuss different OT topics of interest. Host guest speakers often present helpful information that will helpSOTAs thrive. An in-person event is held at the annual AOTA INSPIRE Annual Conference & Expo, which allows the ASD reps to network and share ideas that can inspire other SOTAs or programs as a whole.

In this upcoming year’s election, there are five positions on the ballot: ASDSC Chairperson, Representative to the Commission of Practice (COP), Representative to the Volunteer Leadership and Development Committee (VLDC), Advocacy Representative, and Communications Representative. All of these positions have distinct roles, along with team roles that make up the Committee. Position responsibilities are as follows:

ASDSC Chairperson

The ASDSC Chairperson helps run monthly meetings and prepare agendas, reports, and other pertinent materials for the Steering Committee, Board, RA, or other bodies as requested. The Chairperson communicates input and feedback from the Steering Committee and students to appropriate Association bodies.

Representative to the Commission of Practice (COP)

The Student Rep to the COP represents student perspectives and maintains communication between COP and ASD, and solicits input from Delegates regarding student viewpoints on practice-related initiatives. The COP serves AOTA by promoting the quality of occupational therapy practice and developing practice standards for OTs and OTAs relative to provider and consumer needs.

Representative to the Volunteer Leadership and Development Committee (VLDC)

The Student Rep to the VLDC attends VLDC meetings, contributes to Committee tasks as assigned, and represents student perspectives while maintaining communication between VLDC and ASD. The VLDC promotes upcoming volunteer leadership opportunities and deadlines and solicits input from Delegates regarding student perspectives on volunteer leadership initiatives.

Advocacy Representative

The Advocacy Representative educates peers and others on opportunities for occupational therapy advocacy, and encourages action including membership and engagement of students. They also support and amplify advocacy initiatives of the Association.

Communications Representative

The Communications Rep prepares and provides feedback on student-focused content, communication, and events for dissemination using the Association’s print and/or digital media sources through the ASD Instagram page, CommunOT, and monthly newsletters that are sent to ASD reps containing information on upcoming events, new information coming out, and other information to spread to their SOTAs.

Nominations for these positions begin in the fall months and are up for election in late winter. The official term for these positions begin in July. If you are interested in getting more information about ASDSC or are interested in getting involved please email asd@aota.org and follow us on Instagram @asdaota. Also, look out on the AOTA website for information about nominations.

Mya-Ann Tschopp, OTS, is an OTD student at New York Institute of Technology. She is an ASD Steering Committee member, NYSOTA Student Delegate, and a member of the OT Student Pulse team. She has OT areas of interests in neurology and physical rehabilitation. Her hobbies are reading, spending time with friends and family, and binge watching tv shows.