Jodie O’Connell Ponkos

My journey to becoming enrolled as an Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) student at Maria College was an unexpected change of direction from the 25+ years as a Retail Store Manager. At the age of 16 I lost my dominant hand and acquired my 1st prosthetic devices 30+ years later in June of 2015. Almost immediately my life began to change. I was able to learn pattern recognition that makes it possible to multi-articulate–quickly open and close my hand, do various grips, and do pronation and supination with ease. I felt a confidence emerge and realized that I wanted to take this experience further.  With the guidance of my Occupational therapist, who is a congenital amputee, I found myself enrolled at Maria College. My experience at Maria has been profound; the professors and staff make me feel like I can accomplish anything and they understand my challenges. They are very supportive and understanding as I learn to perform many OTA lab practicals with and without a prosthesis and it’s been an amazing experience. I have recently decided to pursue my Bachelor’s in Health & Occupational Science and plan to later enroll in a Masters OT program. I’m so excited I decided to pursue a career where I know I can enhance and impact the lives of others in a positive manner.