Hello! My name is Mandy Quach and I am a senior Therapeutic Recreation major.
I am originally from Rockland County, New York; which is 45 minutes north of New York City. Some of my favorite things include hiking, getting bubble tea, watching the sunset, summer camp, and really anything spending quality time with friends and family.
I came to Ithaca College my freshman year as a Speech Language Pathology student and didn’t switch to Therapeutic Recreation until the second semester of my sophomore year. I chose to transfer into Therapeutic Recreation because I had (and still have) a strong passion for working with adults with developmental disabilities and I knew that TR would enable me to pursue that passion as a career.
After my first semester as a TR major, I was absolutely in love with the field of Therapeutic Recreation as well as our Recreation and Leisure Studies department. I felt valued and pursued as a student and a strong sense of community within the department which has allowed me to make lifelong friends within my major. Fast forward to my senior year and I am even more in love with TR than I was that very first semester. I have been given multiple hands on experiences that have not only taught me so much but have made me so excited for my future as a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (CTRS).
If you have any questions about my journey as an aspiring CTRS, or about my experiences at Ithaca College, please don’t hesitate to reach out! My email is aquach@ithaca.edu