Only 13 more days!

Hi, my name is Kara and I am a third year MOT student at the University of Mary in Bismarck, ND. That's right, North Dakota. :) This year I am going to conference for the second time and I am SO excited.

Last year was my first and it was quite an adventure. A classmate (Michelle) and I were the ASD reps for our school. Flights are a little spendy out of Bismarck and sometimes Fargo, so we compared the flight costs to driving costs. Driving costs were much more reasonable so that's what we decided to do.....1038.42 miles each way. Our drive was full of homework, caffeine, navigating, and major jam sessions. Overall, it was a good experience, and it also helped us in our choice this year....we're flying. :)

Conference was amazing. We learned so many new things, met new people, and collected many fun 'souvenirs.' It was so inspiring to be in the same place with so many people that share my beliefs, values, and passion. I've stayed in touch with some of the students I met and they've been great resources and companions. I'll be very excited to see them again in Long Beach.

Along with a little insomnia, we brought back a LOT of enthusiasm to ND. So much so that we have over ten students coming from our school which is the most ever to my knowledge and we're very excited about that. Upon returning to U Mary after conference last year I became more involved in our school and state OT organizations and I had a whole new zest for OT. Michelle, another classmate, and I decided to be ambitious even ran for Steering Committee positions for the ASD with AOTA. We didn't win, but it was fun just being a part of the process. I will definitely be as involved as possible with AOTA in the future because of my experience as an ASD rep. It is something I'd recommend to any OT student.

I have quite a few things on my schedule before conference, but I'll just say list some things related to school & OT. This week I'll be trying to change my flight time so I can arrive Tuesday night or Wednesday morning instead of late Wednesday. I'll be crossing my fingers about that. Then there comes school: next week I have to get the poster for my thesis finished and off to the printer, study for a couple tests, make a presentation for an assessment, finish an Assistive Tech assignment, read two novels for a prep class for fieldwork in Guatemala, and a couple other random assignments. Needless to say, I have some work to do. But it will be great to get it all done before conference, take a deep breath, and head toward some warm sun!

Kara Speidel
kara.speidel@gmail.com