Herber on her way to help

Yvonne Herber has moved on to graduate school, but her motivation hasn't changed from when she studied Early Childhood at Guelph-Humber.

"My main goal is to work with children," said the 22-year-old.

She's now a Masters student in Occupational Therapy in McMaster University's School of Rehabilitation Science, the first EC graduate from Guelph-Humber to study OT.

While you may think OT involves working with adult clients only, occupational therapists play an important rehabilitative role with children, explained Herber, offering an example.

"When their fine motor skills are delayed, we develop strategies to help children develop them," said Herber.

In OT, she added, "You're helping people function in their everyday life."

This involves self-care, such as a child learning to dress oneself and productivity, which, for children, means learning to engage in and interact through play.

According to Herber, the University of Guelph-Humber's EC program prepared her well for OT at the graduate level.

From teachers she learned the principles and values underlying the work. Then, while on placement, including at a daycare and with a speech and language pathologist, she worked with professionals in the field to put it all into practice.

"It was a good transition," said Herber.

This came clear during a recent OT placement with ErinoaKids Centre for Treatment and Development Burloak site. "People were impressed with my experience with kids," the student said.

Herber is in her second semester of the 25-month graduate program.

"It's not surprising to hear of Yvonne's smooth transition and early success at the graduate studies level," remarked Paul Sherman, Program Head, Human Services.

"Aside from the broad-based early childhood curriculum undertaken by our students, our undergraduate EC program offers a phenomenal amount of applied experience with children at various ages and stages of development."

We like to keep in touch with our graduates and to share their story with our entire community. We're always happy to hear from alumni. This is our 10th-anniversary year, a great time to connect with us.

Find out more about the Early Childhood program at University of Guelph-Humber.

Sean Flinn, Web Communications Specialist, 416-798-1331, ext. 6299, sean.flinn@guelphhumber.ca