When Abigail Swidergal became a master’s student in Health Sciences at NIU, she had a different perspective than when she was a Huskie undergrad.
“As an adult learner with a goal, I think my perspective of appreciating all my courses and what they would provide is different than if I had participated in this at a different point in my life,” Swidergal said. “The entire program will forever stand out for me, as the support of faculty, application of courses, and confidence I gained in my own skills came together to be such a useful experience that I never would have imagined.” 
Swidergal, who earned her master’s degree in 2020 along with a Certificate in Health Professions Education, is currently a full-time faculty for the Occupational Therapy Assistant Program at Pima Medical Institute in Las Vegas.
“I get to inspire future occupational therapy assistants to be advocates for their roles in the profession,” Swidergal said. “I get excited about all their opportunities, demonstrate how to be involved in the profession, and make a difference in our community.”
While at NIU, Swidergal said her courses and supportive faculty prepared her for her current role.
“Every class gave me something different, and I will never be able to say enough good things about my time at NIU,” she said. “My thinking of how to access education, present education, deliver multimodal education, and assess students changed drastically during my courses.
In addition to presenting her courses at Pima Medical Institute, Swidergal is scheduled to be a presenter at the World Federation of Occupational Therapists Congress that takes place in Paris, France, later this year.
“Presenting at the World Congress has been a dream of mine since my days as a student,” Swidergal said. “I did not expect to be presenting there at this point in my career, and I feel it is quite an honor. To be able to represent what collaboration and leadership looks like from our perspective is something I am incredibly grateful to be able to provide at an international event.”
She’s also looking forward to learning about occupational therapy in other countries – how it is set up, how people access services and what qualifies someone to participate – and bringing that knowledge back to her classroom.
“Advocating for the role of occupational therapy assistants at any level is my passion,” Swidergal said. “This skilled, educated, and licensed role only exists in the US, and much more recently, Canada. I would love for other countries to consider adding occupational therapy assistants to their education curriculum.”
Learn more about Health Sciences at NIU.
