Attending My First Conference
Last weekend I attended the Michigan Occupational Therapy Association (MiOTA) Conference for the first time. It was a great experience. I went with one of my classmates and we had a wonderful time. It was a 2 day event, but I was only able to attend Saturday’s sessions. There were several breakout sessions that attendees could participate in covering a vast range of topics. All the sessions I attended ended up being pediatrics related. I had wanted to be more diverse in my choices, but I couldn’t help but be drawn to presentations on autism, visual impairments in children, and young adult transitions. Working with children is definitely my calling and I can see how the information I learned at this conference will help me to do just that. It was also great to meet and network with practitioners from all over the state. I was also amazed to see so many people I already knew seeing as I’ve only been in the OT world for a brief amount of time. The amount of information provided was just staggering and I am still sorting through it all a week later. I also had to laught at myself as I've not even graduated yet but I found myself speaking to university representative about additional schooling and certifications. I really enjoyed the experience and my classmate and I intend to make this an annual venture. Hopefully we'll be able to convince a few other classmates to join us next year.