Here, you’ll find yourself in the service of helping others.
Moises Samaniego grew up in Texas and moved to the Capital Region as a teenager where he attended Bethlehem High School and spent his free time playing soccer, building cars, and dirt biking. His mother introduced him to a gentleman who raced motorcycles and had a pop-up shop making orthotics and prosthetics for his profession. This was Moises’ first exposure to the field of Occupational Therapy and he was really intrigued by this work. Knowing he needed to start somewhere, he went to a local community college for an associate degree in general studies, continued on to get his Child Development Associate (CDA), and worked as a preschool teacher as he decided on his next steps.
As Moises researched what to do next, he found himself at Maria College’s Instant Admit Day interested in learning more about the College’s Occupational Therapy Assistant, AAS (OTA) program. During his visit, the admissions team was able to connect him with Scott Homer, Director of the OTA program, who showed Moises around the OTA labs and talked with him about the profession. Moises started the OTA program the very next semester. He shared, “I didn’t want to blend in with the crowd, I wanted to have more open conversations and spend time learning from my professors. Maria College was a good fit for me in that way.”
Moises worked a full-time job while going to school part-time at Maria College to complete his OTA degree and then continued on into the bachelors in health and occupational sciences program. “I would highly recommend Maria to non-traditional students looking to return to College. They adapted to my needs and helped facilitate growth. I shared my dreams and aspirations with my advisor and professors and they have helped me develop a plan to get there. There is a sense of freedom with the comfort of knowing you are going to achieve your goals.”
He had the desire to give back to the community in a bigger way and shared that Maria College was the missing piece he was looking for to advance in his career. “I combined what I knew as a CDA of how to foster a child’s development and growth with what I learned at Maria College in the OTA program to use the skills and tools needed to help the children get to where they needed to be developmentally.”
Moises currently works in the Albany school district as a pediatric occupational therapy assistant. He works with students from age 4 to 21 and expressed that his favorite part of his position is working 1-on-1 with students and tailoring the sessions to their needs. After Moises completes his bachelor degree in health and occupational sciences at Maria College, he plans to continue on to earn a master’s degree. Moises is still trying to craft his vision of his future but thinks he would like to use his skills of teaching and/or pursue working for a non-for-profit working with prosthetics.
Learn more about Maria College’s Health & Occupational Sciences, BS program.