Spotlight on…

The College of Health and Human Services

Spencer Morris Occupational Therapy Major

For Spencer Morris, staying flexible has always been part of his career trajectory. Having earned his bachelor’s degree in rehabilitative medicine in May 2021, Morris followed a winding path towards this achievement. Originally from Flushing, Michigan, but now living in Midland, Morris began his education studying computer information systems at Davenport University. At Davenport, Morris also wrestled, which he credits with his eventual interest in occupational therapy (OT)

When he transferred to SVSU as a freshman, Morris was still technically majoring in computer information systems when he realized his love of sports and the human body were the perfect fit for physical therapy. However, he didn’t leave computer information systems behind completely, nor did he stay in physical therapy for long before he shifted into OT. Because he had two friends who graduated with OT degrees, Morris became intrigued by the applicability of the program and made the jump.

The most important revelation about his change of study came while he was shadowing a physical therapist. Morris recalls, “he had this one specific client who had been in a car accident and was initially paralyzed from the neck down. By then they’d been working together for over twenty years and a lot of their focus, even though it’s physical therapy, was on occupations, like finding different ways for him to adapt, for him to brush his teeth.” Morris then realized he was “more interested in the ways he could help people participate in their occupations.” He switched to OT and hasn’t looked back.

AsanOTmajor,Morrisrealizeshowcriticalhiscommunicationskillsaretohisprofession, whether informally with other students or on the larger scale with other OT professionals. Morris helped organize the 2022 Student Occupational Therapy Association (SOTA) conference, and to coordinate such a large event, he was constantly writing emails and focusing on articulating his ideas. From this experience, Morris learned the benefit of writing during networking experiences to ensure events go smoothly.

On the job, Morris also recognizes the importance of clear writing. He recalls a specific example from class when he wrote a letter of medical necessity. In that letter, typically addressed to an insurance provider, Morris discussed the client’s conditions, the need for specific adaptive equipment, and why that equipment should be covered by the client’s insurance. These types of assignments provided Morris with practical experience readying him for his future career.

In another project, Morris sought Institutional Research Board (IRB) approval for his graduate capstone project. For this undertaking, Morris was focused on all the smaller details that add up to a polished and professional document. He notes, “Concise writing is hard, especially research writing where almost every sentence needs to be validated by research.”

Morris is a two-time University Writing Awardee, winning the 2021 Braun Award for Excellence in Writing in the Graduate Program for his essay, “How Community and Occupation Correlate, Correspond, and Create.” He is also the recipient of the 2022 Diane Boehm e-Portfolio Award. In his e-Portfolio, Morrisincluded “not just the learning but different experiences, different fieldwork opportunities, volunteer opportunities. And then, of course, a lot of that is very formal professional writing. It’s the same as a résumé; one spelling error, one grammar mistake can really stand out and be a red flag.”

The experience of developing the e-Portfolio brought Morris full circle back to his computer information systems days. Because of that experience, Morris realized the importance of “being clear enough, concise enough, and explaining myself well enough,” skills making him attractive to potential employers. The e-Portfolio “was definitely a fun challenge because it was just website design and actually kind of goes back to that computer information to create it.”

Morris graduates in December 2022 with his master’s in OT, sure to continue using his skills in creative ways to support his clients.