I added some things, and took out a few…any other suggestions for improving this essay?

If you would have told me two years ago that the most influential person in my life would be a man who couldn’t speak, walk, or go to the bathroom by himself, I probably would have laughed out loud. Two years ago I was a different person. Two years ago I met a man named Henry. I never learned his last name, and I probably never will. Henry couldn’t speak, walk or go to the bathroom by himself. Despite these maladies, Henry was in fact the most influential person in my life.

I began volunteering at the Gurwin Geriatric Center during the summer between sophomore and junior year of high school. The Gurwin Center presented a great opportunity to gather community service hours that were mandatory in my participation in the National Honor Society. Volunteering there was a blast. I spent Tuesday mornings in Arts and Crafts, Wednesdays at bingo, and Thursdays working in the nail salon.

Now it shouldn’t be surprising that my favorite part of the week was Arts and Crafts, nor should it be that I became very close with the instructor, Ms Julianne Cutolo. Noticing my interest in the arts, she told me that she had a degree in art therapy, and that she held an art therapy program at Gurwin each Friday. I eagerly agreed to help, not realizing what I was getting myself in to.

The Art Therapy program was located in the section of the home dedicated to the people with acute medical conditions. The room was filled with about twenty elders, each with worsening conditions. I began helping the residents get situated before the program started when I noticed a huddled in a fetal position in his wheel chair. His clothes were about three sizes too large, and had a Yankee cap sitting on his head. As I walked over to him, I noticed he had a red colored pencil in one hand, a ruler in the other, and a white piece of paper on his lap.

At first he was reluctant to my help. He seemed to be a very humble man, and you could tell it pained him to have to have someone constantly assist him. He took the ruler and extended it towards me, and pointed to the paper. So, I took the ruler from him and placed it on the paper where he pointed. He drew a red line across the paper. We repeated this step about thirty times when I noticed the lines he was drawing were beginning to form a red convertible.

Every day was the same routine. He pointed, I placed, and he drew. He couldn’t speak very well, but as time went on I learned to decipher his mumbles. We laughed, told jokes, and shared stories every time he came to the program. We never introduced ourselves, but we always acted as if we had known each other forever. It wasn’t until my last day at Gurwin that I learned his name was Henry, and he too was dedicated to the arts as a young man.

On the outside, Henry and I were very different. He was an eighty-five year old man with Multiple Sclerosis, and I was a young and light-hearted fifteen year old with the rest of my life ahead of me. On the inside however, Henry and I were very much alike. We came to Gurwin for the same reason: we were alone and needed some company in the world.

If I could never speak, walk, or go to the bathroom by myself ever again, I would have one thing going for me. Henry was such an inspiration because everything in his life at the time was going wrong, but he still pursued what he loved. It was so difficult for Henry to move his hand muscles, but he did it anyway, all for the love of art. He taught me that if you can look for the good in life instead of just accepting the bad, you will live a long and happy life.

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I currently have a bachelor degree in English and two associate degrees in Psychology and History. I was intending to get my teaching license, but discovered it wasn’t for me. My strengths academically lie in the arts; I definitely am not strong in science or math. I also a mom of 4 young children. Is this doable? How tough is the program?

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I am really confused. I am going to be at a community college this summer to get my Associates of Arts and Sciences degree. Where can I find a list of schools that offer Occupational Therapy as a major. It is a Masters degree correct? Will I be okay to transfer in from a two year college with a AA to a program?

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I have bachelor of Fine Arts (art degree) unfortunately. Not kinesiology or something related to PT. However I had good grades and it was a very prestigious school. I’m told that you can in fact get into PT masters program without having a related undergrad but not finding much online about it. I live in the San Francisco bay area. Any info much appreciated

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I work with teenagers who are dual diagnosed. At this program I run therapy groups with the clients. I am looking for non costly therapeutic art ideas to do during smaller pull out groups. Any ideas?

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