Finding her purpose

Sophie Walker is grateful for the financial support she has received through scholarships at the University of Cincinnati.

But one of the things she appreciates most has nothing to do with money. One of her scholarships requires her to perform 30 hours of community service each year, and that requirement led her to an activity that is among the highlights of her week.

“Last year and this year I’ve chosen to do most of my service at the Cincinnati Ballet Moves program for children with disabilities,” says Walker, a Health Sciences Pre-Occupational Therapy major in UC's College of Allied Health Sciences. “I’ve been a dancer since I was eight years old, so this program means a lot to me because it combines a lot of work that occupational therapists do with my first love of dance.”

“Seeing how much the kids grow in a year’s time is really inspiring. I love seeing their faces light up when they’re able to move in ways that they can’t normally move on a daily basis. It is a rewarding experience for the kids and me, and it helped reinforce my hope of becoming a pediatric occupational therapist. I’m not sure I would have found this without the community service requirement.”

To the donors who have helped make her UC journey so rewarding, she says, 

Walker was first exposed to occupational therapy through her younger brother, who received therapy to strengthen his fine motor skills.

“My brother loved going to his occupational therapist,” Walker says. “She was the sweetest person ever. I would also go to some of his appointments because I thought she was so cool. My brother would get to play with Play-Doh and practice writing. And then I thought, ‘Wow, there’s no way that this is a job.’”

A subsequent experience convinced Walker that therapeutic healthcare was her calling. While watching a child with Down syndrome and his family at church, Walker was struck by how the child walked around, smiling and saying hello to people he may not have known. “I thought then that I wanted to be the type of person who can work with kids with disabilities — help them keep their happiness while also helping them do things they might not think they’d ever be able to do.”

Walker chose UC despite her concern that it was the farthest from her home in Akron of the 10 schools to which she applied. But touring UC and meeting faculty and CAHS Ambassadors put her mind at ease. She loved the school’s cohesive footprint and the pervasive friendliness that produced a family-like atmosphere. Today, she views the 3½-hour distance from home positively. “It helped me become independent, to become my true self,” she says. “Meeting new people in a new space helped me grow into who I am.”

Walker will graduate with minors in nutrition and psychology and a certificate in developmental disabilities. Her extracurricular activities include serving as vice president of the CAHS Ambassadors and apparel chair of the Pre-Occupational Therapy Club. She is also a member of Dance to Enhance, a community service-based club in which members choreograph dances — mostly jazz, but also hip hop and lyrical — and then perform the dances at community centers, retirement communities and elementary schools.

Looking ahead, Walker has been accepted into UC’s Junior Early Assurance Program, which saves her a place in the OT graduate program. Her primary goal as an OT is “to help those who are in need complete the daily activities that are important to them.”

To the donors who have helped make her UC journey so rewarding, she says, “Thank you for leading me to this amazing school with so many amazing opportunities. I just love everything UC has brought me.” 

Featured image at top: Sophie Walker is a student in UC's College of Allied Health Sciences. Photo/UC Alumni Association