Gretchen Murphy originally came to Maria College thinking she wanted to become a nurse, as she no longer has the passion for her desk job. But when she attended an Open House, she met OTA Program Director Scott Homer and suddenly things felt different.
“As soon as I met Scott and learned about the OTA program, everything changed,” she said. “I wish someone had told me about this in high school or the early 2000s.”
With two children at home, Gretchen said the program’s scheduling options worked for her life and the faculty and staff were very supportive. She enrolled in the OTA program in 2014 and was licensed in 2016.
Today she is a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA) working in the Lansingburgh City School District. Here she works in a self-contained classroom assisting students with multiple disabilities including Autism and Down Syndrome. She utilizes her training in Occupational Therapy to assist students with life skills such as grocery shopping and cooking.
“Everything I learned at Maria, I see in real life at my job,” she said. “Seeing the kids reach their goals and watching them grow from 3rd Graders to now Middle School and the progression of their skills…it’s just such a fun job!”
Gretchen continued on to receive her BS in Health and Occupational Sciences and was recently admitted into Maria College’s Master of Science in Occupational Therapy (MSOT) Program to become a licensed Occupational Therapist.
