{"id":142055,"date":"2025-01-21T18:17:41","date_gmt":"2025-01-22T00:17:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/wausau\/?p=142055"},"modified":"2025-01-21T18:17:41","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T00:17:41","slug":"meet-kristen-capstone-student-for-spring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/wausau\/2025\/01\/21\/meet-kristen-capstone-student-for-spring\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Kristen…Capstone Student for Spring!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hi there!
My name is Kristen, and I am currently pursuing my Doctorate in Occupational Therapy at Concordia
University, Wisconsin. I am thrilled to be joining GiGi\u2019s Playhouse for a 14-week capstone experience,
where I will have the opportunity to learn about the incredible programs and participants that make the
Playhouse such a special place. Over the course of my time here, I will also be developing and working to
implement a new program designed to benefit the participants at GiGi\u2019s Playhouse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Before diving into the specifics of my project, I would like to take a
moment to introduce myself. I grew up in the Wausau area and
currently reside in Marshfield, WI. I hold a bachelor\u2019s degree in Health
Science with a minor in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point, as well as an Associate\u2019s Degree in Applied Science,
specializing as an Occupational Therapy Assistant. I have spent the past six years working as an Occupational Therapy Assistant, with my first three years spent at a pediatric outpatient clinic. For the last three years, I have been working in an outpatient clinic where I have had the opportunity to work with both pediatric and adult populations<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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In my personal life, I am married and have a 4-year-old German Shepherd named Nala, who is my
enthusiastic walking and hiking companion. In my free time, I enjoy reading, sewing\/quilting, running,
and spending quality time with family and friends. If you see me around the Playhouse, please don\u2019t
hesitate to say hello\u2014I\u2019d love to meet you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n


Now, to provide some insight into the focus of my upcoming work: During my time at GiGi\u2019s Playhouse,
I will be working to develop a program centered on fine motor skill development. Fine motor skills play a
crucial role in activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), and this program will be designed to target those skills in a personalized, one-on-one setting. By providing
individualized attention, I aim to offer specialized support for each participant, addressing their unique
needs and abilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


In addition to creating the program, I will be collaborating with families to learn more about their
experiences and to gain insights into the challenges and successes they face both at GiGi\u2019s Playhouse and
in their everyday lives. I will also be attending various programs and events at the Playhouse to observe
the interactions between volunteers and participants, as well as to understand the overall dynamics of the
Playhouse community. Additionally, I will be creating an implementation plan for the volunteers to
ensure the program is not only successful but also sustainable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


I am incredibly excited to get started, to meet the amazing families and participants who make GiGi\u2019s
Playhouse such a vibrant community, and to contribute a new program that I hope will make a meaningful impact. Thank you for the opportunity to be a part of this wonderful organization. I look forward to connecting with many of you in the coming weeks!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi there!My name is Kristen, and I am currently pursuing my Doctorate in Occupational Therapy at ConcordiaUniversity, Wisconsin. I am thrilled to be joining GiGi\u2019s Playhouse for a 14-week capstone experience,where I will have the opportunity to learn about the incredible programs and participants that make thePlayhouse such a special place. Over the course of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":342,"featured_media":142059,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wpo365_audiences":[],"wpo365_private":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[252,251,234,238,239],"tags":[247,10,245,20,269],"class_list":["post-142055","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","category-gigis-playhouse","category-programs","category-resources","category-special-education","tag-community","tag-down-syndrome","tag-down-syndrome-support","tag-gigis-playhouse-wausau","tag-resources"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/wausau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142055","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/wausau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/wausau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/wausau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/342"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/wausau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142055"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/wausau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142055\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/wausau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/wausau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/wausau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gigisplayhouse.org\/wausau\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}