Ebony Seay graduated from EKU Online’s Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) program in December 2021. While a student in the program, Seay also authored two books designed to help children practice handwriting while learning about Black history and historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Her books, “The Black History ABCs: Handwriting 101” and “The HBCU ABCs: Cursive 101” are now available on Amazon.
The idea came to Seay after a friend asked for help finding writing paper for their child. “I thought, oh wait, this could be something big. Instead of the regular plain writing paper that we had when I was in school, I thought, what if I make it more interesting, said Seay. “It’s not just practicing writing letters over and over but learning something else as well.” The books include short passages to support children who are at lower reading levels maintain interest while also giving the opportunity to practice their handwriting.
Occupational Therapist Background Leads the Way
Seay acknowledges her background as an occupational therapist (OT) helped guide her idea to develop resources that speak to children of color. “As an OT, inclusion is a big pillar for our profession. Inclusion means that everybody sees somebody that looks like them; and it’s not necessarily a bad thing to learn about other people, however, it is a bad thing when you only have the choice to learn about other people and don’t get to see yourself represented in what it is that you’re learning.”
Her experience as an OT in the school system helped her recognize the need for these types of tools. Schools are no longer teaching handwriting as they have in the past, which has created a need for OTs to work with children on their writing or motor skill development to improve writing. Said Seay, “These books serve as a resource by making it a little more interesting while also working on fine motor skills and writing as part of your student occupation that comes into play later as part of your occupation as an adult.”
Reevaluating Her Role as an Occupational Therapy Leader
Seay credits the OTD program with helping her reevaluate her role as a leader in the OT field. “It opened my mind to new possibilities. Everything is occupation-based in terms of life. It gave me a way to think about how I can further insert myself into the occupation-based lives of people; and you don’t have to just focus on one area of OT. You can have a passion about something and do that as well as work with another age group or setting. You can spread yourself around because there are opportunities. Especially if you have an idea – go for it.”
She further explains that OTs can serve as evidence-based change agents by performing needs assessments on everything they see around them. “Insert yourself on how you can improve problems and assessing what people need and what they’re saying. Take that information as your evidence and turn it into some form of treatment or some form of modality or a tool to help meet their needs.”
Why Ebony Chose EKU Online
Seay chose the EKU Online OTD program for the flexibility and convenience the fully online program offered, as well as the reasonable cost. She also appreciated taking one class every eight weeks. “You only have one class at a time and that made it so that you could be successful as a student and working professional,” she said.
She admits she was nervous about completing her degree 100% online, however, talking with program coordinator, Dr. Shirley O’Brien helped ease her concerns. Said Seay, “I’ve enjoyed interacting with all of my professors. It just didn’t feel like an online program. The interaction is there to prevent it from feeling so computer based.”
Interested in a Doctorate in Occupational Therapy?
Earn your online OTD degree from a regionally accredited university that has been an online education leader for more than 15 years. EKU offers one of the top post-professional doctor of occupational therapy programs in the nation. Our challenging doctorate degree options prepare practitioners to take on leadership roles and our flexible, online format provides students the ability to complete coursework and assignments according to their schedule.
Complete the form to learn more about how EKU Online’s OTD Program can help advance your career. You can also contact us at 859-622-4455 or onlinedegrees@eku.edu.