Kendyl Beuttenmuller

I'm very driven and have a strong work ethic, and I think my success is really attributed to excellent support and just having the drive and the passion to do something bigger than myself, and to help others. It's cliche, but to always educate myself and to never stop learning and growing is really something that I value, and that's something that I hope to really instill in my daughter. My parents instilled a very strong work ethic in me, and I'm very grateful for that.

I don't know if there's one specific piece of advice, but over my time as a therapist and even as a college student, I know it sounds really cliche, but I think it is very true: never stop learning. Learning within our field, learning who we are as people, learning how to interact with other people, adapting ourselves is some of the best advice I've gotten, because it's very easy to get complacent and to think that you have it all figured out. But if you remember that you don't, and you can always learn something from someone else, you could always learn something from picking up a textbook or challenging yourself to step outside of your comfort zone, I think that that is something that I've really carried with me throughout my whole adult life. Especially in this field of therapy, because there's so much research coming out, and we have to constantly be educating ourselves so that we can provide the best care to our patients.

You can do anything. You can be anything. That is something that my parents, both my mom and my dad, instilled in me: you can do anything, you can be anybody you want, and you should always feel accepted, because you are in charge of your life and your destiny. That empowerment is the most beautiful and strong thing that we as women can carry. That's something that oftentimes, unfortunately, women have to be told. I feel like a lot of times that's just something that men inherently have, but women have to be told that we can do anything and we can be anything, unfortunately, but that is something that I believe. I oftentimes just try to tell younger women, whether it's my family members or friends, siblings, or whomever: enjoy your time being a young woman, and carry yourself in a professional and respectful way, and good things will come, and good qualities will be mirrored back to you when you are able to put that energy off into the world.

I think the biggest challenge right now, really, is just constantly having to advocate for our profession. Occupational therapists are oftentimes misconstrued for physical therapy or speech therapy, but we do fall somewhere in the middle, and we're challenged every day to just continue to advocate for our profession and advocate for our role in any domain where we practice. That definitely is a challenge, but on the other side of that, it's also positive, because it keeps our field relevant. We're constantly given the opportunity to educate others about our profession, and I think that's something very powerful, because we're keeping the conversation alive about who we are and what our mission and our vision is.

Definitely work ethic and drive. I believe that if you're not passionate about something, it definitely comes out in your work ethic. My parents instilled a very strong work ethic in me, and I'm very grateful for that. Definitely being resilient. I really value good communication and transparency. I think that alone can take you so far in life, and that's something that I've carried with me all throughout my entire life, just really valuing perspective-taking and good quality communication with other people around you.