On May 5, the OTD 2024 inaugural class was commissioned into service as fieldwork and capstone students. Thirty-eight OTD 2024 students were joined by family, friends, faculty, and staff at the Grand Hall of the Trent Semans Center. Students will spend the next year completing two 12-week fieldwork assignments and 14 weeks executing capstone projects.
Symbols marking the commissioning included a Duke blue coat denoting OT’s distinctive value in health and social care, a pin denoting the complexity of an occupational therapy practice, and an oath committing to the dignity and right of all to access the activities that give life meaning.
“You will go out to take that next step with the support and confidence of everyone in this room and everyone joining us online,” said Founding Program Director and Division Chief Barbara Hooper, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA.
Student leaders shared reflections with their classmates.
“You can be anything and everything you want to be. You can be courageous on your first day of fieldwork. You can be powerful in your application of knowledge. You can know that you belong as a scholar of this great profession. You can be an agent of change,” Carlita Tibbs and Caroline Lass recited together. Tibbs and Lass serve as president and vice president, respectively, of Student Occupational Therapy Association (SOTA)
Judean Griffith, co-chair of the Coalition for Occupational Therapy Advocates for Diversity (COTAD) shared a poem.
“Remember the moment when you decided this was it, the moment you chose OT or OT chose you,” said Griffith said. “Remember the spark in your mind, the glimmer in your heart. The day you said ‘I can do this.”
Jisun Kim, co-chair of COTAD, reminded her peers about “the light they all carry.”
“The first day I met you all, I was moved by you, your excitement and dedication, and diverse experiences showed me that the world is so much bigger than what I could have imagined.
You carry a unique light and use it to help others shine. I have been and continue to be inspired by you.”
Watch the ceremony.