University of Mary Occupational Therapy Program

10/05/2026

Billings OT students showed up in big ways for their community on University of Mary’s Day of Service last week! Year 2 students, led by Lindsey Merrill, COTA/L, supported Misfit Toys MT by organizing toys for their annual holiday toy drive! Year 1 students, let by Dr. Max Holden, brightened the days of residents at Yellowstone River Nursing and Rehabilitation. We are grateful for enthusiastic students and wonderful community partners!

10/05/2026

10/03/2026

One last post! A couple of weeks ago, we partnered with University of Jamestown PT students and the Rustad Recreation Center to kick off the “Adaptive Adventures” program!

We love opportunities to bring students from different professions together to support community participation in the Fargo–Moorhead area. Minnesota State University Moorhead speech students couldn’t join us for this event, but we look forward to welcoming them at future activities!

Thank you to Kaycee at Rustad and Dr. Tara Haj at UJ for helping us to promote interprofessionalism. Happy PT Month to our friends at UJPT!

10/03/2026

Finally sharing photos of our first-year OT students in Fargo! We’re off to a great start! The fall semester brings plenty of preparation as we jump into a new academic year.

Students have been matched with their STAMP volunteers as part of the Fargo campus’s service component. On Community Learning Day, we shared our time and talents with our volunteers, building connections through meaningful activities.

It was a wonderful reminder that occupational therapy is rooted in service, meeting people where they are, and supporting participation in what matters to them.

It’s a great day to be an OT!

10/02/2026

More of our OT students on UMary Day of Service!

https://www.facebook.com/share/19SiS7cMQn/

10/01/2026

👶💙 Calling all babies (and their grown-ups)! 💙👶
Our Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and Speech Therapy students are teaming up for a fun infant development screening—and we’re looking for some little participants! 🥰
We are looking for typically developing babies ages 3–14 months to join us on:
📅 Thursday, October 29
⏰ 9:00–11:00 AM
📍 Saint Gianna School of Health Sciences facility at the University of Mary
During the screening, our OT, PT, and Speech Therapy students will work together to look at different areas of infant development, including:
🧠 Developmental milestones
👣 Motor skills and movement
👀 Vision and hearing
👐 Reflexes
🗣️ Early communication and language development
This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to practice working as an interdisciplinary team while families get to learn a little more about their baby’s development!
🔬 This activity is part of an IRB-approved University research project. We are especially interested in connecting with caregivers who are not healthcare professionals. Hearing from families without a professional background in OT, PT, or Speech Therapy helps us better understand how developmental evaluations are experienced from a caregiver’s perspective.
We are hoping to have approximately 17 babies/families participate. If you have a little one in this age range—or know someone who does—we would love for you to share this post with them! ❤️
📧 Interested or have questions? Please contact Julie at [email protected]. I’ll follow up with additional details and collect information such as your baby’s date of birth and preferred time.
Please feel free to SHARE this post! You never know who in your circle has a little one who would be perfect for our student screening. 👶💙
Thank you for helping us provide our students with this valuable learning experience! 🥰

09/30/2026

Today our Umary OT students got out of the classroom and into the community for our annual day of service!! 🧡💙

Groups volunteered by cleaning up a local school playground, serving at the soup kitchen, and cleaning at a local senior living facility!

09/23/2026

📢PARTICIPANTS NEEDED FOR A RESEARCH STUDY 📢
Are you a licensed occupational therapist (OTR/L) or certified occupational therapy assistant (COTA/L) with experience treating adults in the bariatric population?
Researchers from the University of Mary Occupational Therapy Program are seeking participants for a brief anonymous survey exploring occupational therapy practitioners’ attitudes, confidence levels, and perceptions of training when working with bariatric clients.
✔ Anonymous survey
✔ Open to both OTs and OTAs of all genders
✔ Must have at least 1 year of experience working in adult settings
✔ Must have past or present experience treating clients in the bariatric population
✔ Bariatric population is defined as individuals with a BMI greater than 30
Survey available September 23, 2026 - November 18, 2026
Your experiences and perspectives can help improve understanding of occupational therapy practitioners’ experiences and training needs when working with the bariatric population.
To participate, click the survey link below (for Facebook) or the link in our bio (for Instagram)
https://lfsebs.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cARmM0XjwvH25q6
For questions about the study, please contact:
Julie Sandvig
📧 [email protected]
Thank you for supporting occupational therapy research!

09/17/2026

📢 PARTICIPANTS NEEDED FOR A RESEARCH STUDY 📢

Are you a licensed occupational therapy practitioner (OTR/L) or certified occupational therapy assistant (COTA/L) who has supervised Level II fieldwork students?
Researchers from the University of Mary Occupational Therapy Program are seeking participants for a brief anonymous survey exploring how personal experiences influence clinical educators’ approaches to instructing and mentoring occupational therapy students during Level II fieldwork.
✔ Anonymous survey
✔ Takes approximately 5–10 minutes to complete
✔ Open to practitioners age 18 and older who have supervised Level II fieldwork students
✔ Survey available September 1, 2026 – November 29, 2026

Your experiences and perspectives can help improve fieldwork education and support the future growth of occupational therapy.

To participate, click the survey link below:

https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/THsY866qGE

For questions about the study, please contact:
Joscelyn Varland
📧 [email protected]
📞 701-355-8037

Thank you for supporting occupational therapy education and research!