{"id":713,"date":"2024-08-14T16:05:59","date_gmt":"2024-08-14T20:05:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/careerservices\/?p=713"},"modified":"2024-08-14T16:05:59","modified_gmt":"2024-08-14T20:05:59","slug":"justin-matzner-island-dolphin-care-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/careerservices\/2024\/08\/14\/justin-matzner-island-dolphin-care-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Justin Matzner – Island Dolphin Care"},"content":{"rendered":"

During my time as a therapy intern at Island Dolphin Care (IDC) in Key Largo this summer, the most rewarding and fulfilling experience was witnessing the profound impact dolphin-assisted therapy has on our clients and their families. Over the course of six weeks, I saw firsthand how our therapy sessions\u2014both in the classroom and in the water\u2014significantly improved the daily living skills of our clients. Understanding the challenges they\u2019ve faced and seeing how IDC has empowered them to make meaningful progress has been truly inspiring. As a person with a disability myself, it was welcoming to see a fully accessible facility that offers a space where clients and their families can enjoy their time without the usual constraints of their conditions. Having my own challenges daily, and having a lense into what these clients experience, made the experience even more rewarding. I feel deeply proud and grateful to have been part of the IDC family this summer.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The most challenging aspect of this internship was only having five days to focus on each client’s targeted goals. Most clients participate in a five-day program that combines classroom and swim sessions, and while it\u2019s inspiring to watch their progress, it\u2019s always hard to part ways at the end of the week. It was also difficult to say goodbye to the remarkable clients, dedicated staff, and incredible dolphins I had the privilege of working with. I gained invaluable knowledge from the animal care team about marine life and the complexities of working with dolphins during therapy sessions. Throughout this experience, I\u2019ve interacted and got to know clients from all over the world, including Spain, Poland, and Germany. Learning about their diverse backgrounds and languages has greatly enhanced my cultural sensitivity. It\u2019s amazing to witness how the dolphins leave a lasting impression on everyone they meet.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This internship has continued my decision to pursue a career in animal-assisted therapy as an occupational therapist, and I\u2019m excited to see where this path will lead me.\u00a0I wish I had more time at Island Dolphin Care, as it truly feels like a second home to me. My time there has been invaluable, teaching me so much about myself and how to grow as an occupational therapist.\u00a0I will always be grateful for the opportunity to work with the incredible team of therapists, animal care specialists, and the seven dolphins I was fortunate to work with, including Fiji, Tashi, Dalai, Squirt, Sarah, Bella, and Grace. Thank you to the Royal Experience Program for making this life changing internship possible.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Justin Matzner, Occupational Therapy<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\"\"\"\"\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During my time as a therapy intern at Island Dolphin Care (IDC) in Key Largo this summer, the most rewarding and fulfilling experience was witnessing the profound impact dolphin-assisted therapy has on our clients and their families. Over the course of six weeks, I saw firsthand how our therapy sessions\u2014both in the classroom and in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":382,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/careerservices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/careerservices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/careerservices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/careerservices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/382"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/careerservices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=713"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/careerservices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":728,"href":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/careerservices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713\/revisions\/728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/careerservices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/careerservices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.scranton.edu\/careerservices\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}