Our 2022 Capstone Conference, the theme of which was Resiliency in Action: Innovative Ideas for Enabling Occupation, was a grand success. Featuring a keynote address by Dr. Mary Egan, the Director of the University of Ottawa’s School of Rehabilitation Sciences, the conference highlighted the year-long research projects of our graduating MOT students, which ranged from wheelchair training, self-management of stroke, and a youth-centred measure of function for OT practice to the relationship between language and occupation. Explore the full program to see the range and breadth of student research.
Dr. Jaimie Borisoff, a Principal Investigator at ICORD and the Director of SFU’s MAKE+ research group, delivered this year’s community address, which covered innovation in the design of assistive technologies. Surbjeet Atwal, an OT based out of Surrey Memorial in the Student-Run Outpatient Therapy Program, received the prestigious Chris Courtney Award for Excellence in Fieldwork for extensive contributions to clinical education and the process of admissions.
This year’s faculty address and closing address were given, respectively, by OSOT Professor Dr. Liisa Holsti and graduating students Sharon Jang and Nicole Carlson, who co-chaired the conference, and the conference ended with OSOT Department Head Dr. Susan Forwell’s final comments.
Each year, the Capstone Conference is followed immediately by the traditional pinning ceremony, in which graduating students are officially welcomed to the profession as colleagues. The transition into professional practice is a momentous event, and it was marked by a series of rousing speeches by Dr. Forwell; Dr. Chris Lovato, a Professor in the UBC Faculty of Medicine School of Population and Public Health and the Vice Dean, Academic of the Dean’s Executive Team; Giovanna Boniface, the President of CAOT and an alumna of the Master of Rehabilitation Science Program, which the Department co-leads; and Urian D’Silva, the 2022 MOT cohort’s Valedictorian.
Collectively, these speeches addressed the extraordinary resiliency of the graduating class, the power of leading with both our hearts and our minds, the wealth of opportunities that await those entering the field, and the critical importance of those we love in enabling us to take risks, pursue our dreams, and thrive as members of a supportive community.
We are tremendously proud of all that our graduating students and new colleagues have achieved, and we can’t wait to see their impact as they set out on their professional journeys as OTs.
Learn more about this year’s Capstone Conference and look forward to our 2023 Capstone Conference next July.