Responsify 
February 1, 2023
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Kailee D’Amelio Salus University Award: $1,000 October 20, 2022 |
The Responsify team is excited to announce Kailee D’Amelio as the winner of The 2022 Empowering Others Scholarship for $1,000. Kailee attends Salus University majoring in Occupational Therapy. Applicants had to explore empowerment, reflecting on what the word meant to them, and how their major could be used to empower others. Applications for the 2023 Empowering Others Scholarship are now open.
Empowering others is important because it can contribute to their success in life. I know I would not be where I am today or have had the successes that I have had thus far in life, if it had not been for others empowering me. The empowerment of others can give you a confidence boost that you may need, a positive self view that you may have been lacking, the courage you need to accomplish something, the push you need to go for something you want, the strength you need to do something difficult, the assurance that you are capable of achieving what you want to, and many other positive outcomes. There have been several times in my own life, where the empowerment I received from someone else was crucial, or I had not received the empowerment from others I desired and wished I had. From those experiences, I have learned that I want to be someone who leaves a positive impact on someone else’s life, and can help others when they need it by empowering them and being the push of courage in their life they might need to accomplish great successes. My major (Occupational Therapy) can be used to empower others by helping people live independent, meaningful and fulfilling lives, through the therapeutic use of daily activities. Occupational therapy is a healthcare profession that uses the meaningful activities or occupations that an individual value to help them improve their health and level of functioning. Working with a client as an OT, I can empower them to achieve a goal or health target they may have through the use of creative activities and exercises. Being able to guide someone to accomplish a goal they previously did not believe they were capable of achieving is what makes occupational therapy such an empowering field. Oftentimes individuals we work with in this field may feel limited in what they are able to do or inadequate in their ability to perform certain tasks. That is why it is important for OT’s to be a source of empowerment to those they work with so that they can give them the confidence they may need to know they are capable of achieving great things and to work hard to accomplish their health goals. Helping others to work hard and achieve different targets they previously did not think was possible, is what makes the field of occupational therapy so rewarding and one I am eager to be a part of in my future. I look forward to being a personal cheerleader to all of the clients I work with in my future career, and to encourage them and give them confidence throughout their healthcare journey. I am passionate about improving the strength and functioning of others in order to help them achieve developmental milestones using the occupations in their life that they love. By being there to witness their achievements throughout their rehabilitation journey, and supporting them along the way, occupational therapists can be a source of empowerment to those that they work with. The last time I felt empowered was when I looked at my mom’s journey into the healthcare field, and it gave me the push and bit of strength I needed to take the next step in pursuing my own career in healthcare. Growing up my mother was a stay at home mom who raised me and my three younger siblings. By the time I was in high school and my siblings and I were older, she made the decision to go to school to become a nurse. I was so proud of my mom for going to school later on in her life and pursuing a career as important as nursing; all while continuing to provide for her family. She truly is an incredible woman, who always made sure that her family lived in a clean house, had dinner on the table, had clean clothes, helped us with our homework, and attended all of our sports games, recitals, and school events, all while taking night classes to earn her degree. I truly cannot put into words how much my mom inspires me, and empowers me to work hard to achieve the things that I want to in life. After earning my bachelor’s degree from the University of Delaware, where I majored in Health Behavior Science with a concentration in Disability Studies and a minor in Psychology, I was feeling burnt out and rethinking my decision to continue my education and earn a master’s degree in Occupational Therapy. Talking to my mom and looking at her journey gave me the push I needed to continue to work toward my dream career, and gave me the confidence I needed to know that I could be a successful Occupational Therapist if I continue to work hard and pursue my goals in life. Thanks to the empowerment I received from my mom, I am about to begin graduate school in the fall at Salus University to earn my masters in occupational therapy degree.
