For Jessie Devillier, the path to becoming an occupational therapist wasn’t straightforward — but it was the right choice.

“As an undergraduate, I struggled to decide what to do with my life,” she recalled. "I wanted a career that would hold my interest, fulfill and challenge me, and not ultimately feel like a dead end."

She found her answer in occupational therapy — a field that offers both depth and flexibility.

“We’re trained to help people adapt to life at any stage, and we can choose to focus on any age group,” she explained. “That variety was, and still is, so appealing.”

Devillier works in an acute care setting at Lafayette General and Ochsner University Hospital, where occupational and physical therapists are often among the first to help patients regain mobility after trauma,

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