Jessica Toledo is a first-year occupational therapy assistant student. She has a bright personality and a heart to care for others and see them succeed in life. Toledo is from a small town in central Oregon called Terrebonne, around 30 minutes from Bend. She grew up with a love for the outdoors, hiking, fishing, and riding ATVs. She also enjoys camping, backpacking, reading, and making jewelry. She enjoys reading self-help books and has recently found a new interest in fiction books, particularly thrillers and mysteries. Toledo is currently working as a sales associate at a local thrift store called The ARC.
What made you choose occupational therapy?
Quite a bit of things, actually, but I would say it was based off of the experiences that I’ve had. I knew that I wanted to be somewhere in the healthcare field since I was a kid, but I just didn’t know which discipline I wanted to be in. I got introduced to physical therapy, and I worked as a physical therapy aide for I think almost two years. But while I was there, as much as I loved it, I found myself veering towards our occupational therapist. I had a lot of fun with her and her patients and seeing what she was doing, and I felt as though there was more of a connection to those patients. I think that was definitely what sparked my interest in looking into occupational therapy.
What brought you to LBCC specifically?
I think it was just the program, hearing that the OTA program was offered through Linn-Benton, and I heard a lot of great things about the program through experiences that I’ve had with other occupational therapists that work within the valley. So it kind of just worked out that I moved into town and I saw that the program was available. I heard great things about it and saw great things about it when looking online to gather information. So yeah, I would say the program is specifically what drew me to attend Linn-Benton.
Could you explain what occupational therapy is for readers who might not be familiar?
It’s very diverse in that it pulls from a lot of different disciplines. We just do so many things. Honestly, it’s so mind boggling the more that I learn about it. A lot of people think that it’s physical therapy, but it’s not. We work hand in hand with PT, but we are our own identity.
We look at an individual for their abilities, not for their disabilities or their limitations. And we kind of work with them, with their abilities, and how we can just enhance those more and more. Getting them back to their occupation, or their occupation being something that brings them purpose. Or something that they have to do or something that they want to do or a role that they have to fill. We get them back to that in any way possible, whether that’s advocating for them or modifying any sort of adaptive equipment that they need, getting them transportation – working on just a variety of things. It’s crazy how much we can do to help people out.
What are some of the classes that you took winter term?
Yeah, so this term was relatively dense. I had quite a bit going on, but I took the anatomy and physiology class and it was great. I really enjoyed that class. I completed a documentation class, just going over how to document stuff once I get into the field. And then I had an activity analysis class, and I had two asynchronous classes. One was a psychology class; it was abnormal psychology. And then I had a therapeutic use of self class.
Why is occupational therapy meaningful to you?
I would say it is important to me because it can serve a wide demographic and population of people, and it is an occupation that is very purposeful. Like I said, we just do so many different things and we pull from so many different healthcare disciplines, that combined, we can offer a lot of assistance to a wide variety of individuals. And there’s so many fun things that kind of come out of helping. I would say we use a lot of creative thinking to help these individuals and get them back to what brings them purpose and what makes them feel like themselves.
What type of patients do you feel most passionate about working with?
Honestly, if you would’ve asked me last year, I absolutely would’ve said pediatrics. I’ve always loved working with kids. I always kind of imagined myself working with kids, but I really think I’m very open-minded. So I don’t really think there is a specific population that I’m most passionate about. I just want to help individuals. I just want to help people. And whatever age group that is, I mean, it doesn’t really matter to me. Geriatrics, pediatrics, whatever it is; I’m just wanting to help.
What are your long-term goals with occupational therapy after LBCC?
I would definitely say a long-term goal is I’m hoping as soon as I graduate from the program that I’m able to get a job either in central Oregon or here in the valley. It doesn’t really matter to me, but the long-term goal is definitely to get a job after work or after graduation. And really, like I said, in any sort of facility or with any sort of demographic, whether it’s acute care or outpatient – those are the two that I have experience in. But I have even been looking into potentially home health or the school district. So really, the long-term goal is just getting a job and wherever it is, I will make the most out of it.
What has been the most challenging part of the OTA program?
I think the most challenging part is the balancing of school and work and the social life. This is a two-year program, and we are on a term system, so it’s very accelerated and a lot of things are thrown at us and expected for us to do. So it can be really hard. … And it asks for a lot out of you. I feel like it asks for a lot of time. You have to dedicate a lot of time to stay afloat and make sure that you’re understanding. It asks for quite a bit. Even with field work, it’s expected that a lot of things kind of change within our lives when it comes to location where we’re at. Yeah, I would say the most challenging thing is probably that there’s a lot of sacrifices to succeed in the program.
What has been the most rewarding part of the program?
Oh, probably just seeing how much my knowledge has expanded. I’ve seen a very big shift in my knowledge and my confidence of what I know, and it’s really cool: Sometimes I catch myself outside of school, applying things that I have learned or talking to people about certain things that I’ve learned with just such confidence in myself – just crazy how much knowledge I’ve absorbed and learned through the program. So yeah, I would say the most rewarding part is definitely just the knowledge that I’ve accumulated over the time, and I guess intellectual confidence that I’ve gained through it.
What advice would you give to students who are interested in the OTA program?
Oh my goodness. I would definitely recommend just having a support system and having those lines of communication with that support system, making sure that work, I guess, is also part of that support system and making sure that they’re aware of how much the program might ask of you.
Luckily, I have an amazing boss. I mean, shout out to Anna Stevenson (at The ARC, Benton County) because honestly, she’s amazing. She understands that school is my priority and she does what she can to make sure that I’m able to succeed in the program, as well as just be able to financially afford what I need to live.
Having the financial stability of that support system with also a significant other, or parents – having that could also be relatively useful because like I said, it takes a lot out of you. Sometimes working and school can be kind of challenging to balance, so I think having a support system that can mentally and financially help you through it.
This article originally appeared in the April 2025 edition of The Commuter.
