“How can the skills and experiences of a specialized Puget Sound graduate education impact society on a broader level?”
“Ashley Chan graduates with her Master of Science in Occupational Therapy… Ashley is committed to using her Puget Sound education to advocate for increased diversity in occupational therapy and has put that mission into practice with her experiential learning in context project to develop materials for high school health profession career fairs for the recruitment and mentorship of prospective students of color. Ashley’s ability to connect deeply with all those lucky enough to work with her is a trait the Occupational Therapy faculty have noted will serve her well in the future, and the Puget Sound community has been fortunate to know her empathy for all and her determination to advocate for social justice in health professions. Her speech will challenge us to continue to broaden our thinking on how increasing diversity increases all of our opportunities.”—President Isiaah Crawford
“...as OT students, we learned that the demographic of our profession is primarily females who are White. Our faculty teaches students to recognize the need to increase diversity within our profession and health professions as a whole, to best serve individuals from wide-ranging sociocultural backgrounds. They have taught us to value our differences and practice self-reflection in efforts to better understand how we can contribute to society.”
“Over the past year and a half, our nation has experienced an increase in hate and attacks against Asian people, by nearly 150%. The world has watched Black Americans being killed by the people whose job it is to protect and serve them. We, the students at Puget Sound, have learned and accepted our duty to make communities better, more socially just, places.”
“The education we have received from Puget Sound has prepared us to become leaders in our professions and make an impact in an ever-changing society. We are ready to embark on the next step of our journey. Keep learning, keep reflecting, and keep fighting for social justice.”—Ashley Chan, MSOT ’21.
