Grace Richardson, Class of 2021

Studying Occupational Therapy at UCC allowed me to combine my interests in both mental and physical health and taught me how to support people in a truly holistic way. I loved how the programme emphasized looking at the whole person, which is something that continues to shape how I think and work. I really valued the small class sizes and made lifelong, likeminded friends through this course. Since graduating, I’ve worked in a hospital setting and am now pursuing a PhD at NYU focused on the often overlooked psychosocial benefits of rehabilitation. The degree opened up a wide range of meaningful career paths, and we were encouraged to think outside the box and apply our skills in both clinical and non-clinical roles.  

Since graduating from the OT program at UCC in 2013, I’ve worked in the HSE in Ireland, at a program for Autistic adults in Scotland, gotten my Masters at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, and then moved to the United States to get my Post-Professional Doctorate in Occupational Therapy at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Since graduating from the OT program at UCC in 2013, I’ve worked in the HSE in Ireland, at a program for Autistic adults in Scotland, gotten my Masters at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, and then moved to the United States to get my Post-Professional Doctorate in Occupational Therapy at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Since then, I’ve worked in community-based mental health programs for children with developmental disabilities and young adults experiencing homelessness, as well as in academia and leadership roles. I’m currently based in Fort Collins, Colorado, where I am a faculty member in the Department of Occupational Therapy at Colorado State University. My work focuses on teaching and program development in emerging practice areas, particularly for individuals struggling with challenges related to mental health, homelessness, substance use, and the transition to adulthood.

I look back on my time at UCC very fondly and made lifelong friends I’m still in regular contact with. Back in 2015, when I started preparing to move to the United States and transitioning all of my qualifications over, one thing I remember is how much I soon realised the program at UCC had helped me with that preparation (even though I might not have realised it at the time!). There were so many steps involved in getting registered and licensed as an OT in the U.S. (paperwork, fees, visas, interviews, exams etc), but the most time-consuming was having all of my educational records reviewed and evaluated. I remember realising that a lot of the material in my Bachelors from UCC already met a lot of the standards required, which meant I only had to do a couple of extra continuing education courses to meet the rest, which I was very thankful for! I also don’t think I fully realised it at the time, but looking back now, I am very grateful for the foundation in occupational science the program at UCC gave me, especially now that I’m in an academic role myself and integrate occupational science concepts into a lot of my lectures.