Angela Hissong, occupational therapy faculty member at Penn State Mont Alto, will be a featured speaker at the 15th World Federation of Occupational Therapy (WFOT) Congress in Santiago, Chile next week. The international conference is held every two years in different parts of the world. The theme is "Sharing the World of Occupation from Latin America."
Hissong has been selected to make two oral presentations, “Learning Self Nurturance and Unlearning Patriarchy: A Feminist Poststructural Narrative Inquiry of Rural Mothers’ Constantly Shifting Identity” and “Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Occupational Therapy.” She will arrive in Chile a few days before the conference to visit a farming region outside of Santiago with a colleague from the University of North Dakota. They will talk to women farmers about ergonomics and the design of farm tools just for women to use in agricultural production. In addition, the two will meet with a representative from the Colegio de Terapeutas Ocupacionales to discuss a cooperative online experience between Chilean students and students at Penn State and University of North Dakota.
Her trip was made possible by funding from four University sources. Hissong has previously spoken internationally in England and Canada.
Penn State Mont Alto offers an associate degree program in occupational therapy which prepares graduates to be occupational therapy assistants qualified for employment by agencies that provide services. April is recognized as Occupational Therapy Month by the American Occupational Therapy Association.