Four Post-Professional Occupational Therapy Doctorate (PPOTD) students of Gannon University’s online program are answering the call to serve as agents of change within their communities as they seek to foster a renewed vitality in those who experience disability or injury.
May 11, 2019 presented the exciting opportunity to celebrate the graduation of these students and honor them as the inaugural PPOTD cohort in Gannon University’s online program.
View a video from the Commencement celebration.
Read as these students express their sentiments on this exciting milestone:
“Gannon’s doctoral formation process has allowed me to bring [a new program for individuals with autism] into a research study, which is the first step to getting it into the body of knowledge and into the clinics and schools where it belongs. My biggest accomplishment is bringing the product to life in a way that will change autism forever in a way that has changed me forever.”
- Lynette Scotese-Wojtila, OTD ’19
“I am hoping to use these skills and the knowledge that I’ve gained from this program to move into higher education and into a leadership or administrative position once I get a few years of teaching under my belt, [so that I can] create some really great programs for future OTD students.” -
- Mary Iwanenko, OTD ’19
“I graduated from Gannon in 2015 with my master’s, and after a few short years in the field, I decided to pursue higher education. It was wonderful that Gannon had just started a post-professional doctoral degree program, so I jumped on board. I always wanted to be an expert in my field and obtaining the OTD was one way to achieve that.”
- Danielle DiLuzio, OTD ’15M, ’19D
“I saw a need to move forward in my career and pursued a doctoral education, so that I could become an agent of change and start my own corporation.”
- Carrie Jost, OTD ’19
In addition, Gannon’s Ruskin campus graduated its first two students of the Master of Athletic Training program in a celebratory ceremony on May 11, 2019.
Speaking on behalf of a powerful network of more than 38,000 Golden Knights around the world, welcome to the Alumni Association, graduates!