Perspectives Spring 2015

PERSPECTIVES • SPRING 2015 23 DR. MIRTHA WHALEY APPOINTED TO STATE ASSOCIATION Mirtha Whaley, Ph.D., assistant professor, was recently ap- pointed as chair of the Mental Health Special Interest Section of the Florida Occupational Therapy Association (FOTA). By as- suming this role, she became one of 17 dedicated volunteers serving FOTA’s constituency across the state of Florida. As chair, she hosts a roundtable discussion during the association’s annual conference, contributes an article or two for publication in the association’s quarterly FOCUS newsletter, reviews con- ference proposals, answers member and public questions re- lated to mental health, and attends board meetings as desired. Her appointment is extremely timely based on the abundant legislative and business discussions taking place about mental health service provision. Consequently, because the FOTA’s upcoming keynote address will focus on mental health advo- cacy, Dr. Whaley responded by submitting a proposal for a pre- conference institute on the therapeutic use of self and the intentional relationship. NEW SOTA AND SGA OFFICERS ELECTED By Lauren Kellner, Fieldwork Support Coordinator The slate of 2014-15 SOTA and SGA officers was elected during last semester’s first institute and consists of the following mem- bers from the classes of 2015, 2016, and 2017: Executive Board President – Jordan Powers Vice President – Kerri Easterling Treasurer – Tyler Lacertosa Secretary – Kelsea Grampp Non-Executive Board Public Relations – Nicole Bellare Senator to SGA – Jaslin Parhar AOTA Delegate – Kristin McMillen AOTA Delegate (Alternate) – Jonathan Pitts Class Representative 2015 – Hillary Whitacre Class Representative 2016 – Kim Yetman Class Representative 2017 – Lydia Fritzsche The newly elected officers consist of students from the occupa- tional therapy and physical therapy departments as well as from the business administration and the anesthesiology assistant pro- grams. Special congratulations are extended to Doctor of Occu- pational Therapy students Jordan Powers and Nicole Bellare in their new roles as SGApresident and vice president, respectively. OTD PROGRAM TAKES THE ALS ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE By Lauren Kellner, Fieldwork Support Coordinator The Doctor of Occupational Therapy (O.T.D.) Program at the Tampa Campus accepted the challenge from the Entry-Level Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) Program for the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which is commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. The ALS Association has funded over $99 million in research and clinical management projects, while the ALS Ice Bucket Chal- lenge has helped raise over $113.6 million. Participants in the O.T.D. Ice Bucket Challenge were Drs. Ricardo Carrasco, Rick Davenport, and Gustavo Reinoso, Sarah Weldon, Mara Rosen, Korie Jack- son, Kelly Walsh, Amanda Skillen, Kimberly Bartels, Meghan Granata, Kristine Cinco, Jordan Powers, Lillian Freeman, Lee Meach, Megan Dadez, Jaslin Parhar, Nicole Bellare, Kristin McMillen, Shannon Taylor, Molly Christian, Jonathan Pitts, Tara Johnson, Brittaney Kinder, Kim Yetman, and Hillary Whitacre. O.T.D. STUDENTS FINISH THE SUMMER SEMESTER STRONG The Tampa Entry-Level O.T.D. Program congratulates its students for a job well done during the summer semester. The entire class of 2015 successfully passed its Level II Fieldwork, while everyone in the class of 2016 made the Chancellor’s List with the exception of two students who made the Dean’s List. Additionally, in its first semester of the program, the class of 2017 had eight students on the Chancellor’s List and eight students on the Dean’s List, which amounts to over half of the class. News Briefs