Social Justice Final Reflection

Volunteering and serving was not a new concept to me upon starting my graduate studies
at Touro University Nevada (TUN). I served a 2-year mission for my church, completed
humanitarian aid efforts in Guatemala, volunteered in villages of Western Africa teaching
children for the Deaf for 4 semesters and have given of my time to numerous other charities that
I support. I loved the social justice opportunities we were provided with through our program
and the encouragement to serve in our communities outside of the classroom. I remember
learning about the core themes of this program the day of my interview and realizing that I
wanted to align myself with a program that upheld these values. I have always loved to serve and
to give to those that were in need. The biggest change for me is now I have more skills, talents,
abilities, knowledge, experience, and perspectives to offer those that I serve. I now view the
world differently. I now see occupational injustice in places I did not previously. I now see
marginalization in my own attitudes that I never saw before. I now view social justice in a
different light and realize that to make a difference in this world I need to offer more than just
time. I need to utilize the knowledge and skills I have gained as an occupational therapy student
to bring occupational and social justice to those that have been deprived of the right to engage in
meaningful occupations both on their own and in the community. I now know better how to
support, advocate, and help make changes at the systemic level for people in need, rather than
helping them temporarily. I have always been a compassionate and empathetic person but I have
learned that those traits alone are not enough, I must act as well.
Studying a marginalized population in depth gave me great insight into the foster care
system and children that age out. It taught me to look more into my clients past. To better
evaluate where they came from and where they want to go in life. To remember how much of our

past contributes to what we believe in and who we are today. To take into account the
opportunities that many people are not afforded, by no fault of their own, and look for ways to
compensate for them. I will strive to raise awareness for clients being deprived of social and
occupational rights and work to help them resume them as much as possible. I will not give up
on my clients or think that there is no hope after seeing the oppression, obstacles, and injustice
that many people have overcome to get to a better life. I will do my best to take off my personal
lenses, and look at the world through my clients lenses to better understand what is important to
them and what they value in life. I have been reminded that we all have different values, beliefs,
and rituals, and I need to be hyper-aware of portraying my personal values onto my clients.
Although I have taken oppression classes in my undergraduate studies, I have evolved in
my understanding of what oppression can do to people from my studies at TUN, my experiences
in other countries, and my interaction with people through my fieldwork and extra-curricular
activities. I now focus on how to not only end the oppression, but also how to remediate the
effects of oppression and help bring those individuals and populations into equality.
Ive learned how to provide services that reflect my newfound understanding of how my
personal service delivery of occupational therapy and the service delivery of healthcare in
general can be affected by factors like socioeconomic status, gender identity, age, race, ethnicity,
primary language, sex, and religious beliefs. I have become a more effective advocate for others.
I have become a practitioner that will constantly be looking for social justice opportunities and
utilize all that I have learned in the past 2 years to be a more effective agent of positive change.