Melanie Blassingame (OTD ‘26) is considered a nontraditional graduate student: she is over 25 and has already built an established career. Now, she is using her graduate studies to reignite her intellectual passions. Blassingame was recently selected to share her story at a virtual story telling event, “The Turning Point,” during the SHRS Graduate and Professional Student Appreciation Week.
In the nine years since earning her undergraduate degree, Blassingame has held positions in group homes, she’s cared for individuals and she’s worked at health care institutions. She fell in love with the people and the work and she “wanted to do more.”
A web search for career options led her to Pitt’s School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. She enrolled in 2023, seeking a Doctor of Occupational Therapy degree.
“Being able to help someone budget their Social Security income, help them find work, pay their rent and live independently is important,” she says. All of it fits the role of occupational therapy—using everyday life activities to promote health, well-being and fuller living. “But,” Blassingame adds, “the most awesome part is helping people to live against the odds of what others may think they can or cannot do. That is what brings me the greatest joy.”
Blassingame says Pitt OT’s fieldwork and capstone requirements, which put students in direct contact with professionals and practice, have benefits for the clients she’s aiding. At the moment, she’s a live-in provider at a small group home on Pittsburgh’s South Side. “What I’ve learned in the classroom has been valuable as it translates to the work I do in real time,” she says.
In addition, the knowledge-building and reliance on evidence-based research to guide the learning is the “most thoughtful” she’s seen. “We’re always learning and it feels like the intention is bigger than just taking an exam.”