Page 23 - Annual Report 2016-17

SUCCESS STORY “Volunteering here also allowed me to see
the power and importance of daily
UHN Volunteer Resources interviewed Theo Ortega about
his time with us and how volunteering assisted him in gaining exercise or physical activity. Because of
new skills and experiences that would later be useful in his exercise, I saw improvements in not only
role as an Occupational Therapist.
the patient’s physical health, but also
What roles did you volunteered in and when? their mental wellbeing.”
I volunteered in the Cardiovascular Prevention and
Rehabilitation program with Dr. Susan Marzolini at the THEO ORTEGA
Toronto Rehab Rumsey Centre between 2013-2014.
What do you feel you learned while volunteering? MSCOT, COHS, BKIN
How the recovery process varies between people. We would OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST
always start each exercise session by walking laps around the DEPARTMENT OF MSK, ABI, STROKE &
indoor track as a warm up and I was able to learn more about
these patients, their life stories and their everyday GERIATRICS (CASUAL)
experiences. Some really liked to push themselves during TORONTO REHABILITATION INSTITUTE
the sessions and others liked to take a more gradual
approach. In either case, their motivation to attend sessions Page 21
every week in order to improve their endurance and strength
was inspiring. I was able to see snap shots of their recovery
process and their motivation rubbed off on me as well.
Because of them, I looked forward to volunteering each
week.
Did you always know what you wanted to be when you grew
up?
I was (and still am) deeply interested in space and growing up
my dream was to become an astronaut.
What did you study in school?
I was always physically active, swimming competitively and
playing variety of sports including basketball and soccer.
Therefore, I decided to pursue a degree in Kinesiology at the
University of Toronto in efforts to enter the healthcare eld
What led you to choose Occupational Therapy?
After completing my degree in Kinesiology, I took a year off
to work as a personal trainer and complete an
undergraduate thesis project to satisfy an interest in
research. I was passionate about exercise and physical
activity but I knew that I did not want to pursue a career as a
personal trainer. I went back to the drawing board and
thought about a profession that would mesh all of my
interests of promoting physical activity, learning about
people and their experiences, research, and working in a
rehabilitation setting. I stumbled upon the profession of
Occupational Therapy in my quest to nd an all-
encompassing profession and the match was made. I set my
sights on completing a Master of Science degree in
Occupational Therapy at the University of Toronto with the
goal to one-day work at Toronto Rehab. I am now living the
dream working as an OT at Toronto Rehab and loving every
minute. Although I would still love to be an astronaut.