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Optometry
When Andrew Welsh, MSOT ‘20, OTR/L, was in high school, he had a friend with cerebral palsy who had big aspirations in life, but needed some assistance. There was an occupational therapist (OT) working with the friend and some other students to help increase their independence with a variety of school, work and life skills.
Seeing that first-hand ignited a passion in Welsh.
“I realized then that OT was a little-known profession with a huge impact. I wanted to increase people's independence so I could facilitate others' goals to become reality,” he said.
It wasn’t easy. Welsh earned an undergraduate degree in Exercise Science and Health Promotion from Cabrini University in Radnor, Pennsylvania. After graduation, he spent the next two years as an emotional support aide in an elementary and middle school and also worked as director of fitness at Valley Forge Military Academy’s fitness camp.
By the time he chose Salus University to pursue his goal of becoming an OT, he had to work his way through graduate school by also running his own landscaping business on the side as well as being an aide as Moss Rehabilitation.
“I chose Salus because I prosper in a culture where community and respect are present,” said Welsh. “I felt that at Salus when speaking with the professors during my interview and seeing their interactions with the students and staff.”
Like many students, the pandemic complicated an already challenging situation for the Havertown, Pennsylvania native. It hit just as he was finishing his first Fieldwork II rotation at a skilled nursing facility. So, he had to complete online fieldwork placement and eventually worked virtually with those who were recovering from alcohol and drug abuse.
“The COVID experience made me even more flexible than OTs are supposed to be,” he said. “I came into school wanting to be a pediatric OT. Through the pandemic, I ended up being able to learn through fieldwork and help those with COVID-19 that I otherwise wouldn’t have been able to if the pandemic didn’t change things.”
That change, though, did back up his fieldwork obligations, which in turn backed up his graduation date from May 2020 to August 2020. Since graduating from Salus, Welsh has been working at Deer Meadows in Philadelphia, a skilled nursing facility. There he helps short-term and long-term care patients with their daily living activities.
“The pandemic changed the trajectory of my career to where I now work in geriatrics rather than in pediatrics,” he said. “That’s the beauty of OT as well because we have the flexibility to do that.”
When he’s not working, Welsh likes to stay active playing soccer and hanging out with his family, particularly his niece and nephews, who he calls a “great stress relief.”
For now, he’s happy with what he’s doing in geriatrics and wants to continue to learn in that area, although he’d like to transition into pediatrics at some point in his career since that was his original intent.
“I believe that the professors at Salus prepared me for fieldwork and the fieldwork prepared me for my position that I'm currently in,” said Welsh, who cited Ryan Hollister, MS, director of the Bennett Career Services Center as a great resource for his career development and the University’s Center for Personal and Professional Development (CPPD) for preparing him mentally for success. “I was able to transition easily after graduation due to the training and knowledge from Salus,” he said.
