Austin and Morgan Copsey
When you ask Owens students what are the contributing factors to success, you hear things like flexibility, affordability, instructors and your classmates who turn into family. For two Occupational Therapy Assistant students, they are going through their academic journey together as husband and wife.
Austin and Morgan Copsey met at Applebee’s when they were scheduled for the same day orientation. After working there for a while, they were looking for their next career path. Austin and Morgan then researched separately different career opportunities that piqued their interests. One night, Morgan told Austin about her interest in occupational therapy. Austin agreed after doing research of his own that occupational therapy was a big interest of his as well. “We both care about other people and knowing how much occupation therapists help people in their daily lives, we knew it was the right path for us,” said Morgan.
In Fall 2021, the couple enrolled at Owens. The Copseys said it was a no brainer to come to Owens to pursue their degrees. Since enrolling, the two credit their instructors, like Barb Seguine, “we cannot thank Barb enough for all she has done to support us on this journey together,” said Austin. Family in the OTA program is more than just their marriage, Morgan and Austin say the encouragement from each other and their classmates has made it one big family. “It can be a challenging program so having classmates to confide in and know you’re not going through it alone is huge,” said Morgan.
As occupational therapy assistants, the Copseys will help make it possible for people to achieve independence and enjoy life to its fullest no matter what challenges they face.
The couple will graduate in May 2024 and are already planning for their future. They hope to obtain travel contracts and work in different locations before settling down and finding a place to call home.
To learn more about the occupational therapy assistant program, visit www.owens.edu/snhp.
Published September 2023