Name: Kylie Enders
Year: Senior
Major: Occupational Therapy
What’s your favorite class: My OT class that focused on group dynamics. We got to lead small groups of kindergarteners and first graders at Evanston Academy that focused on prosocial behavior.
Describe your life in one quote: You gOT this (haha, get it?)
What’s your favorite part of Xavier: Xavier just feels like one big family.
Best advice for incoming students/OT students: It’s easy to let school rule your life, but make sure to leave some time for some fun.
So we heard you went to Guatemala this summer. Tell us (for those non-OT students) about it:
Every year in May, the OT department takes 18 students and several occupational, physical, and speech therapists from the Cincinnati area to Guatemala as part of a service learning trip. Students spend an entire semester and then some planning for the trip and learning about Guatemala and its culture. This past year was the first year that the trip was two weeks in length. The first week was spent being immersed in the culture and the second week was spent working with kids and adults in government and privately funded facilities. It is an amazing experience that I wouldn’t have gotten to be a part of if it wasn’t for Xavier.
What did you do while you were there?
Like I said, we worked with kids and adults in government and privately funded facilities. My group members and I worked with kids at a privately funded facility called Missionaries of the Highway. We spent 4 days here and worked with over 80 children. The facility itself has occupational, sensory, and physical therapists which we worked with, as well.
What is your favorite memory of the trip?
The first day at Missionaries of the highway, a little guy with cerebral palsy had seen a couple of us with the occupational therapist around noon and then headed back to see the physical therapist soon after to have his wheelchair adjusted for his growing body. By the end of the afternoon (around 5pm), the entire team (11 people total) was working to keep him entertained and get his wheelchair adjusted the way it needed to be. The little guy was exhausted, frustrated and left the facility crying. But, after we packed up our belongings and walked outside, we saw him leaving in a pick-up truck on his mothers lap with the biggest smile we had ever seen. It was the best ending we could have asked for after a very long day.