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Each summer, the Department of Occupational Therapy joins with UAB Arts in Medicine to host two 4-week virtual magic camps for children with disabilities. It’s a unique skill-building opportunity for both the children and graduate students in UAB’s Entry-Level Clinical Doctorate in Occupational Therapy program, who complete one of their Level I Fieldwork experiences as camp coaches.

Samara Sterling, alumna of our PhD in Nutrition Sciences program, has worked at The Peanut Institute, in Albany, Georgia, as the director of research and nutrition since 2018. Sterling is passionate about plant-based nutrition, and this position fits one of her core values – to empower people with the knowledge they need to make their own dietary decisions.

Steve (‘80) and Jana Foster have added $100,000 to the Stephen and Jana Foster Endowed Scholarship in Physical Therapy, to support more physical therapy students in the UAB School of Health Professions.

Amy Landry, Ph.D., has been appointed as the new director for the Doctor of Science in Healthcare Leadership (DSc) program. Landry, an alumna of UAB’s M.S. in Health Administration program (MSHA Class 35) and its PhD in Administration-Health Services program (2006), brings a wealth of experience and leadership to the role.

A multidisciplinary group of low vision practitioners and people with visual impairments gathered in Johannesburg, South Africa, in early September at the Low Vision Matters conference. There, they heard Beth Barstow, PhD, OTR/L, and Jason Vice, PhD, OTR/L, speak about low vision evaluation, assessment, and intervention, and spent a day in hands-on labs.

Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy Rachel Ashcraft, MS, OTR/L, TBRI Practitioner, received the Alabama Occupational Therapy Association’s (ALOTA) highest honor, the Elsie Holmes McKibbin Award, at its 2024 Annual Fall Conference in Gulf Shores, AL.

Dillan Brewer serves as a prime example of what it means to pay it forward. His passion for selflessly serving others can be seen through his mentorships and his extracurricular involvement within the health care industry and other nonprofit organizations.

Lauren Miller is a highly accomplished physician assistant with a profound commitment to her field. Her journey is marked by a relentless pursuit of excellence, continuous learning, and a passion for improving patient care in dermatology.

After decades of giving back, Patricia Curry knows that students need more mentors and role models to deliver support and guidance. So, ss president of the Birmingham Black Nurses Association, Patricia Curry is asking members - and herself - to do more.

Wardine Alexander serves as the District 7 representative and President Pro Tempore of the Birmingham City Council. She is proud to be our alum and proud of how UAB instills service learning: “We each have a role to play in our communities and if that can be fostered while you are a college student, then that will stay with you throughout the rest of your lifetime.”

Two Doctor of Physical Therapy students - Jonathan Morrow and Kyle Golden - share a bond over a connected purpose amd that bond led each of them to get involved with RANSOM – Radical Athlete aNd Student Oasis Ministry – in efforts serve as peer mentors.

It would be so easy to just start tossing out cliché after cliché like “people are people wherever you go” or “we are different, yet the same.” However, Mark Anderson is not a cliché.

You could say Tiffany Chaney was born to serve, and you would not be wrong. Even as a teenager – the infamous eye-rolling years for so many of us – she was engaged in serving others. “I don’t really remember a time when service was not included in my way of being.”

Benjamin Burgess enlisted with the Marine Corps out of high school, then earned his B.S. in Biomedical Sciences at UAB. He then transitioned to the Navy and earned an MBA and his Doctor of Medicine from UAB Heersink. Learn why commitment and service have always been pillars in his life. 

Adrianne Smiley, EdD, OTD, OTR/L (MSOT, 2015) is the kind of person who believes if you want to see change, the best way of going about it is by being the change you seek. For her, the inequalities in health care she can identify through her experience and dedication to her profession fuels her desire to continue to find new ways to advocate for equal healthcare opportunities for all.

Ask a health professional why health care and they usually want to help people. Ask a Physical Therapist why they chose PT, it's likely a sports related injury that sparked their interest. For Andrew Stanley PT, DPT, MTC, CMPT, ACSM CEP (DPT, 2009), all the above led to his commitment to service and dedication to others.

A 40-plus year career in one field is quite the accomplishment, and doing so with only a handful of job changes is rare in this day and age. That’s what Sharon Smalling (DI, 1980) has managed to do though, and she takes a lot of pride and joy in that.

Forrest A. Daniels DSc, FACHE (DSc, 2012), has served at food centers and homeless coalitions. He has served on emergency response teams and as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). And he firmly believes that you, too, can serve.

A multitiered partnership with PT Solutions Physical Therapy establishes the PT Solutions Scholarship, provides support to several key events, and creates professional development opportunities for students in the UAB Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) program.

Redemption Earned, an Alabama-based nonprofit, has appointed UAB Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy Sarah Tucker, PhD, OTR/L, to its board of directors.