Finding Community on Campus: University of Findlay Doctorate Candidate Alexis Caroline

Written by Marissa Baker, a current graduate student in UF’s Master of Arts in Rhetoric and Writing. Alexis Caroline, pictured top.

Alexis Caroline is a Doctorate of Occupational Therapy candidate in her seventh year at the University of Findlay. Caroline completed her bachelor’s degree in psychology at UF with “minors in art and gerontology” and is currently completing her doctor’s degree.

Caroline is a native of Mineral Ridge in northeast Ohio. Her passion for helping people and experiences shadowing an occupational therapist led her to apply for UF’s highly ranked OT program. “From the moment I walked on campus I felt at home,” she said.

During her time at UF, Caroline has been involved in the Student Government Association, Student Activities Board, UFTV, a wide variety of clubs, honors societies, concert band, and much more. She is also involved in the Findlay community as a karate instructor, Dance On participant, Red Cross volunteer, and 50 North volunteer. Her network on campus is both extensive and supportive. “I knew I made the right choice [coming to UF] when I missed being at Findlay just as much as I missed home,” Caroline said. She found it easy to make friends on campus and build lasting connections with other students as well as faculty and staff.

Caroline is one of the most experienced tutors currently working in UF’s Writing Center, having started tutoring there in her second year on campus. When asked if anyone on campus has been particularly helpful during her time at UF, Caroline said, “Where do I start?” She went on to highlight the role that the Oiler Success Center, the Office of Student Activities and Commuter Services, Student Government, The Writing Center/English Department, the OT Department, UFDM network, facilities, and catering offices contributed to her time on UF.

In addition to her extracurricular activities, Caroline enjoys taking on new and exciting challenges academically. Her areas of interest in occupational therapy “are hippotherapy, acute care, low vision, accessibility, and assistive technology.” When choosing an OT rotation in Findlay, Caroline and her partner pursued a challenging hippotherapy route—a branch of therapy involving work with horses and people. Through the experiential learning opportunities at UF, hippotherapy took Caroline out of her comfort zone and opened a potential career path after graduation.

Caroline’s capstone project focuses on accessibility in museums. She is partnering with the University of Findlay’s Mazza Museum for this project. One of the goals for this partnership is to give back to UF by helping Mazza improve accessibility for visitors that are deaf, hard of hearing, or blind.

To people considering Findlay for their degree programs, Caroline says UF “gives you more than what you bargain for … in a good way.” Not only will you get a good education, but “when we leave here, I feel like we got a lot more because [of] the groups and the people,” Caroline said.

Summing up her time so far at UF, Caroline stated, “My experiences at UF have resulted in my desire to stay in Findlay after graduation. I made myself a home in Findlay. I built connections with the dance groups in the community, the senior centers, the Findlay Art League, the Academy of Martial Arts Studies, local shops, and most importantly within the University of Findlay as a student and alumni.”