WCU Graduate Spotlight: Beth Hobbs, OTR/L

  • May 16, 2016

  • Read Time 3 mins

Scrolling through online job searches one day, Beth Hobbs saw something that piqued her interest.

鈥淲ow, there鈥檚 a lot of OT jobs,鈥 Hobbs said to herself, 鈥渂ut what is OT?鈥

She did some research and learned 鈥淥T鈥 was short for occupational therapy, which is a healthcare profession that 鈥.鈥

鈥淎nd I found there鈥檚 a huge demand for it 鈥 there鈥檚 like through like 2020,鈥 she said.

Now Hobbs is part of 国产主播 history, having graduated with the university’s first MSOT cohort and passed her certification 鈥 along with the entire class 鈥 on the first try.

鈥淚 passed, by just a little, but I passed,鈥 Hobbs said, laughing. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚 kind of the story of my life.鈥

Initially, Hobbs achieved her bachelor鈥檚 degree in marketing and worked in the insurance industry for 20 years in Santa Rosa.

鈥淚 was actually an appraiser most of my career, where I would go to your house or go to the body shop and write estimates when you wrecked your car,鈥 Hobbs shared. 鈥淚 was kind of a gear-head growing up.鈥

While working at the second-largest body shop in the country, writing estimates for a multimillion-dollar company, Hobbs realized she needed a change and began looking for a new career.

鈥淚 decided 鈥楾his isn鈥檛 me. Here I am again at a job that鈥檚 not going to be a good fit for me,鈥欌 Hobbs shared.

Hobbs relocated to San Diego and discovered that an old friend worked in OT in the city, so she decided to learn more about it by shadowing them for a few days.

鈥淚 think going from one side of the industry, [insurance], looking at medical claims from car accidents, to now helping people through occupational therapy, was really appealing to me,鈥 Hobbs said. 鈥淚t was a good fit.鈥

In a leap of faith, Hobbs began her occupational therapy education by taking science pre-requisites at local colleges. After 18 months of taking courses, she decided on a university, only to realize the OT program wasn’t right for her.

鈥淚 remember thinking, 鈥業f I fail at this point in my life, I鈥檓 in trouble,鈥欌 she said, laughing.

One of her professors, Dr. Nicolaas van den Heever, ended up leaving to start the MSOT department at 国产主播, and 鈥 in a second leap of faith 鈥 Hobbs decided to enroll in the new program at WCU鈥檚 Center for Graduate Studies.

Now, she is working currently at a skilled nursing home 鈥 which she calls training ground for many OTs 鈥 and is well on her way to achieving her dreams as a newly licensed occupational therapist.

鈥淚 never felt I made a wrong decision,鈥 Hobbs said. 鈥淲est Coast was a perfect program. I was so impressed. Everyone was so approachable. I feel like I got a better education here, and a more OT-focused education 丑别谤别.鈥

WCU provides career guidance and assistance but cannot guarantee employment. The views and opinions expressed are those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs or position of the school or of any instructor or student.