When it came time to choose a location for her fieldwork, Master of Occupational Therapy student Sarah Siebrandt knew she was ready for a challenge. At Centro de Rehabilitación, Educación, Capacitación, Estudios y Recursos, Inc., or CRECER, in Ecuador, she found the right challenge: a language barrier, a new country and being thousands of miles away from family and friends.

“In occupational therapy, we are continually giving our clients the ‘just right challenge’ — the specific amount of difficulty for them to be challenged by an activity yet be successful to help them grow and reach new goals,” she said. “Going to CRECER provided this for me.”

Siebrandt, Claressa Midgette and Kristen Grube are the first UF OT students to conduct their fieldwork experiences outside of the U.S., all at CRECER. The occupational therapy treatment center in Ibarra in northern Ecuador has another Gator connection. Its executive director is Elaine Keane, a 1985 UF OT graduate.

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