Introducing Our Staff
GRADUATE ASSISTANT
Sally was born and raised in Springfield, MA. To her, this is home, no matter where she goes. She currently lives in East Longmeadow, MA. Sally grew up bilingual, speaking Vietnamese and English. She is an alumni of Western New England University with a bachelor’s degree in health sciences and a doctorate degree of occupational therapy. She has professional experience working as a patient care attendant and pharmacy technician.
During the OTD program, she was a member of the Student Occupational Therapy Association, Coalition of Occupational Therapy Advocates for Diversity, Inspired Minds, and Interprofessional Student Alliance (between the OT and pharmacy program). Sally’s fieldwork II experience was in the district of South Hadley Public School systems (ages 7-14) and at Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital of Woburn in an inpatient/acute care unit. Sally’s doctoral experiential capstone (14-week project) was on the stress experiences and coping mechanisms of students with disabilities at WNE.
She pursued a career in Occupational Therapy because she wanted to be an advocate for individuals with all different types of disabilities and to understand the impact of the disability in multiple settings. Sally’s grandmother and nephew were a big inspiration in this pursuit, and she wants to reciprocate the same time, love, and effort to help others. Sally’s greatest passion is to be able to contribute to the accessibility and inclusivity of others in all aspects of daily life. Being a graduate assistant of Student Accessibility Services allows her to help students with various diagnosed disabilities remove barriers from their environment as an effort to support them in their academic occupations.
In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family, chasing waterfalls, painting abstract and cartoon art, trying new foods, and watching anime (Japanese animation).