LeMoyne college graduate students are studying to be occupational therapists in a location that puts them in the middle of the action. Officials cut the ribbon and blessed the newly renovated 10,000 square foot classroom and lab space today in Hanover Square.
Professor and Chair of LeMoyne’s occupational therapy program Ivelisse Lazzarini says the location for the new program is essentially a living laboratory.
“How beautiful it is for us to tell our students, 'just go outside and tell me how many people you see in wheelchairs do we have enough ramps, are they safe, is it accessible;' do they have any other needs exploring diabetes, arthritis, cardiovascular diseases, strokes. We have many clients who have mild strokes in the wrong adaptive equipment. So we want to look at all of those needs.”
Lazzarini says their proximity to restaurants will also allow students and staff to help make facilities more accessible. The first cohort of 30 OT students began last June, and started taking classes downtown in late January. The program is expected to reach its 90 student capacity by sometime next year. Students Catherine Lasda and Dominique Scripa share their experience with visitors at Monday’s opening.
Lasda said, “We didn’t have this space in the beginning. So you learn so much more about each other as a cohort, as peers. I don’t think we’d all be as close are we were if we weren’t the first…”
Scripa said, "With the staff, too, I think since we’re all trying like to figure it out together. A lot of our teachers are first-time teachers, but were all just “oh does this work, maybe not”, then we kind of like adjust it, and then we try something else. So, it’s a learning process, but it’s good.”
The new location was more than a year in the making. LeMoyne officials looked at six locations across the county before settling on the downtown space through a partnership with M & T Bank. The master’s OT program is the only one of its kind in the greater Syracuse area.
