For their personal commitment and ongoing contributions to community service, Megan Rodriquez, a Digital Media Arts (DMA) major, and Kelsey Nicks, an Occupational Therapy student, have received the California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH) Alumni Association Jamina O. Barnes Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship is named in memory of Barnes, the former director of Alumni Relations at CSUDH, and is awarded annually to one eligible full-time undergraduate and one graduate student. Rodriguez, an undergraduate student who lives in Los Angeles, was a bit taken back when she learned she received the scholarship. “I felt surprised, excited, thankful, and extremely honored,” ... Read More
Occupational Therapy
Occupational Therapy faculty, student interns improve mobility for stroke survivors
After just four sessions working with Paul Penoliar, an occupational therapy specialist and clinical instructor at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH), stroke survivor Tiufono Taliulu was able to return to Victoria Golf Course’s driving range to continue his rehabilitation while working on his golf swing. Taliulu is just one of approximately 200 members at the Joseph B. Jr. and Mary Anne O'Neal Stroke Center, located in the Carson Center, who Penoliar and his student interns provide services for through CSUDH’s Department of Occupational Therapy. Taliulu, a long-time regular at the golf course, felt “so good” near the end of the session there that he began teaching ... Read More
O&P Program assists in project to give 3-D printed hand to young girl
The Orthothics and Prosthetics program at CSUDH received local and national attention recently for the role it played in giving a local 7-year-old girl a prosthetic hand through 3D print technology. The project was led by the nonprofit e-NABLE in partnership with Built-It, a do-it-yourself 3-D printing workspace. O&P instructor Mark Muller consulted on the case and helped custom fit the 3-D printed arm with a silicone insert. Video from My50 Chicago Television coverage of the story featuring Mark Muller A sampling of other media coverage: 7-year-old Lakewood girl gets a new 'robohand' through 3-D printing technology -- Press-Telegram/Daily Breeze 3-D printer provides ... Read More
Occupational Therapy Cohort Program Distinctive in Design
Now in his third semester in the Master of Science in Occupational Therapy (MSOT) program at California State University, Dominguez Hills, Edward Kim is focused on pediatrics. He along with one of 69 students from the program’s eighth cohort are in the field once a week at the Speech and Language Development Center in Buena Park, working with low-functioning children with autism, including some who don’t use speech to communicate. “We’re coming up with activities that will improve [communications skills] in the classroom setting. We work on handwriting, how to make handwriting fun,” said Kim, 27, who is interested in working as a hand therapist or in the area of geriatrics because he saw ... Read More
Professional Society Lends a Hand to Occupational Therapy Students
The Hand Therapy Society of Greater Los Angeles (HTSGLA) has pledged its support for an annual scholarship for students enrolled in the Master of Science in Occupational Therapy Program (MSOT) at California State University, Dominguez Hills. A gift of $20,000 will create the Hand Therapy Society Scholarship, which will award $1,000 scholarship to one student annually. Patricia Quan, vice president, HTSGLA, says that the organization hopes to grow a new generation of therapists specializing in hand and upper extremity injuries. “We want to mold the occupational therapists going into the field of hand therapy, and this is one of the ways [we can] encourage interest in this ... Read More
