Meet the New Student Pulse Editor-in-Chief and Senior Editor

AOTA Student Pulse Community,

We have had the absolute pleasure of serving as Associate Editors for the Student Pulse and collaborating with authors like yourselves to bring your unique voices and stories to life. This platform is a growing community that empowers occupational therapy students and new practitioners by providing support, encouragement, strength, and advice. We are thrilled to be stepping into the role as Editor-in-Chief and Senior Editor to continue the incredible efforts of former Editor-in-Chief, Carley Yanuck, and work with the Pulse team to bring in new perspectives, visions, and development. You, the readers and contributors, drive the OT Student Pulse, as it is written by students, for students. We love hearing about your experiences, triumphs, struggles, and breakthroughs, and are committed to ensuring the Pulse captures these moments in each monthly edition.

Carley, we thank you for everything you have done for this platform over the course of your term and wish you the best in your future endeavors as an occupational therapy practitioner.

As Editor-in-Chief and Senior Editor, we have identified three key themes we believe make the Pulse special and what we hope to continue in the future publications of our term:

Sharing the Potential of Occupational Therapy

The scope of occupational therapy practice encapsulates many factors and is evolving and growing every day. We believe it is important to share the unique initiatives and programs from our student community and the opportunities and emerging trends of the field. Sharing narrative experiences helps other student readers become aware of all the amazing things occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants can do and inspires continued advancement of the field.

Highlighting Student Experiences

The occupational therapy student experience can be exciting and rewarding, but at times can be stressful and challenging. Sharing your experiences, whether in your successes or challenges, allows student readers to feel seen and gives hope to those starting in their journey. Our goal is to create a welcoming and positive environment for authors to share their stories, to inspire readers to pursue their dreams and aspirations as future and new occupational therapy practitioners.

Empowering Unique and Diverse Voices

The occupational therapy student community is filled with unique and diverse voices, and the Pulse is a place to reflect this. We strive to give these voices a platform to share their stories and push the boundaries of representation and inclusion. Encouraging others is one of the most important ways to promote growth of the profession.

We are always looking for unique articles to publish and new members to join our amazing editorial staff. You can submit articles for potential publication or apply to join the Pulse Editorial Team.

Sincerely,

Breanna and Emily

Breanna is a recent doctoral graduate of Quinnipiac University’s occupational therapy program in Hamden, Connecticut. She is thrilled to be stepping into the role of Editor-in-Chief and continue collaborating with such a strong and passionate editorial team. She is interested in working in pediatrics and preventative mental health.

Emily is a third-year doctor of occupational therapy student at New York Institute of Technology. She is currently completing her second level II fieldwork placement in the New York State Department of Education. She has interests in school based occupational therapy, sensory integration, and early intervention. She is excited to continue to contribute to the Pulse and to take on the role as Senior Editor.