Sarah K. O'Hagen

Professional Development Award

The Professional Development Award is given to a student who exemplifies professional and personal responsibility through clinical work, scholarship, or service.

This is a photo of Sarah O'Hagen. Sarah is wearing a long sleeve purple shirt and a long black necklace around the neck. Sarah is wearing glasses.

After receiving a bachelor of science in psychology, I became familiar with occupational therapy through personal experience. After participating in occupational therapy as a client, I quickly saw how this career embodied everything I was passionate about. It combined my love for the biological, psychological, and social sciences and would allow me to help people restore their independence.

Throughout my time at Ithaca College, I was afforded various opportunities to grow as a person, a student, and a future occupational therapist. I continued exploring my passion for research as a graduate research assistant working on a study funded by the National Science Foundation. In the pediatric clinic, I also had the opportunity to work one-on-one with a child and become an integral part of his therapeutic progress. With the support and mentorship from all the incredible professors in the Department of Occupational Therapy, I was challenged daily to push myself to become a more critically reflective, skilled, and actively empathetic person. I believe my education, experiential clinic opportunities, and research opportunities at Ithaca College have provided me with the strong foundation necessary to continue my journey as a lifelong learner and occupational therapist that will make a difference in the world.

Academic Achievements and Personal Highlights

  • Cum Laude
  • Dean’s List
  • Teaching Assistant, Research Methods
  • Graduate Research Assistant, Tots on Bots
  • American Occupational Therapy Association Annual Conference, Short Course speaker and poster presentation (2020)
  • Occupational Therapy Graduate Research Colloquium, “Impact of a Transgender Health Educational Workshop on Occupational Therapy Students”
  • American Occupational Therapy Association Annual Conference presentation (2019)
  • James J. Whalen Academic Symposium presentation and poster (2018)
  • ICOT Pediatric Clinic experience (Fall 2018, Spring 2019)
  • American Occupational Therapy Association member