Anna Lawton: Drawn into a Helping Profession

How did you decide on coming to AU? 

I decided on coming to AU because it was local and close to home. I wanted to be close to my family and I also was really attracted to the community and the welcoming atmosphere. 

What are your favorite memories of AU? 

My favorite memories would have to be working at Anderson Central. I was in Anderson Central for about three years of my time at Anderson University. I just loved being there and getting to see all of the students every day and getting to work during the summers down there. I got to do a lot of the Base Camps, which was fun. I enjoyed the new students. 

How did you become interested in occupational therapy? 

I was talking to Dr. K (Koenigstein) in the Science Department and I was in between careers, kind of thinking about which path I wanted to go on. I was originally thinking about going to medical school and then I decided that I wanted to look at some other avenues in health care. I wanted to be in healthcare but didn’t think medical school was the right path. Dr. K gave me some ideas of other careers to look into. I looked into occupational therapy and shadowed in the occupational therapy field. I really enjoyed what I saw whenever I went to observe, and so I decided that was the right fit for me.  

What attracted you the most to occupational therapy? 

I think just the way that occupational therapy is so client-centered. It’s focused on forming a relationship with each client. Focusing on forming a therapeutic relationship and just getting to know the client and getting to meet the client where they’re at so they can meet their goals and get back into their daily life and be as independent as possible. 

Do you feel like Anderson University prepared you for the Occupational Therapy program you entered? 

I do believe that my degree and the program I was in at Anderson University really did prepare me for graduate school. I feel like it was a little bit of an adjustment just because it’s a different school and the program was different, but as far as academics, I definitely feel that I was well prepared from Anderson University to start in a graduate program. 

This is my third semester in the program. In August, I will have been in the program for a year. 

In our program we have four levels. Level 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B and they’re all field work experiences. We’ve done our level 1A which is a one-week field work experience already and then the Level 2 experiences are 12-week clinical experiences. 

Where were the clinicals? 

For my Level 1A experience I went to an orthopedic outpatient occupational therapy hand clinic and upper extremities. They focused on hands and upper extremities. For my Level 1B I’ll be going on that experience in October and that will be at an outpatient pediatric occupational therapy clinic.  

What advice would you give someone considering occupational therapy? 

I would say some skills that would be good to have going into occupational therapy would be the ability to be flexible and having good communication skills, being able to have a good conversation and connect with the clients you see. Also, just being determined and committed to that field.  

Academics-wise for advice, being serious about anatomy and things like that, too. I had to take an abnormal psychology class as a prerequisite for the program. I feel like that was a good class to take to understand different mental health disorders and conditions. Then to really understand how to communicate and connect with people—psychology is definitely important. I would say anatomy and physiology are the most important classes.  

Is there anybody in occupational therapy you admire? 

There have been a lot of occupational therapists I have observed, many of them I see how they were able to connect with their clients and get to know them and build rapport with them. 

Do you plan to practice in the local area? 

I’m still living in Honea Path with my husband. I just got married about a year ago. I’m traveling from Honea Path to Clinton every day. I plan to stay in the Anderson area or Greenville—areas in the Upstate. I don’t plan to move unless an opportunity presents itself. I plan to stay in the Upstate.