Welcome OTA Student, Emily!

Written by Emily Joyce – OTA student at Wilbur Wright Community College.

Hello! My name is Emily Joyce and I am in my last semester completing my Occupational Therapy Assistant degree at Wilbur Wright Community College in Chicago. I am spending the next 8 weeks at GiGi’s Playhouse Chicago completing my Fieldwork placement, and am excited to meet everyone! During my time here I will be tutoring Math and Literacy, helping lead some of the teen groups, as well as other odds and ends to help the playhouse run smoothly. I grew up in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, but moved to the Pacific Northwest after graduating from high school. It was there that I developed my love for the outdoors, received my Bachelor’s degree in Dance, and began doing homecare work for seniors and people with disabilities. It was this merged experience studying dance while working with individuals with a variety of physical disabilities that inspired me to go into the field of Occupational Therapy. I decided to move back to Chicago to complete my OTA degree in large part because I greatly missed my family and friends, and I’ve been so happy to be home! Some of my preferred interests and activities are taking walks and biking along the lake, doing puzzles and playing board games, cooking vegetarian meals, swimming, dancing, reading, and watching my favorite TV shows. I am also a HUGE animal lover!! Unfortunately, I’m not able to have a dog at my building, but I have a wonderful 11 year old black cat named Simon who loves cuddling and playing. I’m looking forward to getting to know everyone, as well as all the new skills and experiences I’ll be developing during my time at GiGi’s!