Many students struggle with time management during the semester. Many students also deal with stress and keeping a healthy diet. If any student is seeking help to manage their time during the semester, get back on a healthy diet as well as gain tips on studying then sign up for the program Succeeding at Kean: No Pain, All Gain, hosted by the Kean University’s Occupational Therapy (OT) Community Cares Clinic.

For those who don’t fully know what the OT department, it “is a holistic, client-centered health profession that works with individuals to help them function optimally in their meaningful daily activities which we call ‘occupations,’” comments Geraldine Pagoa-Cruz, who is the director of the Kean University Occupational Therapy Community Cares Clinic.

Pagoa-Cruz continues to say that the daily schedule for any OT student “could include: eating at the dining hall or cooking meals, studying, getting to/from class, work, or social activities and balancing school, work and family/friends.”

An occupational therapist can work with patients that range by age (infant to seniors) and or if a patient has a disability or not. An occupational therapist can also work at various places for example a hospital, the client’s home or a mental health center.

The OT department has a program where every spring semester, the first year students of the Occupational Therapy students have the opportunity to take a community partnership and service learning course. Over the years the OT department has partnered with several programs in New Jersey such as the Union Senior Center, and Bridgeway Rehabilitation. “Succeeding at Kean: No Pain, All Gain, will be the first time that we are partnering with our own Kean community, and we are extremely excited to be able to provide this program to Kean,” comments Pagoa-Cruz.

“We want to provide a service to Kean students who may be struggling to be successful at school,” comments Pagoa-Cruz, “although tutoring is helpful for many students, other students may need additional strategies. We want to look at them from an [occupational therapist] lens and provide a supportive environment with peer mentorship.”

The program will be facilitated by Kean Occupational Therapy graduate students under the supervision of licensed clinicians. With this program students will be able to solve some of the common issues that many students have today.

Pagoa-Cruz says that “some common issues could be poor time management and organization, decreased school-work-home life balance and poor study skills. As [Occupational Therapist] we want [OT] students to be able to look at their own individual college experience and also see that their peers may be struggling in the same areas. That way we can help them figure out what the barriers to success are and what may be possible solutions or new strategies to be successful.” 

This will not only benefit students that are struggling with studying or time management, but will also help the OT students. It helps students in the department of OT understand how broad the profession OT is.

“Although we as [Occupational Therapist] may work with children and adults with disabilities or different abilities, we can also move away from diagnosis and just work with individuals on their own personal goals [or] occupations,” says Pagoa-Cruz.

If any students would like to be a part of the program one must apply (click here to do so) by February 1, 2016. Upon completing the application one must hand in the application and a copy of their student ID to the Kean University Department of Occupational Therapy located over at East Campus, room 224. The seating is limited so apply as soon as possible.Succeeding at Kean: No Pain, All Gain, is a free seven week program. It will begin March 16, 2016, and end April 27, 2015, and will be hosted every Wednesday during college hour, 3:15 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.