06/09/2026
OT Spotlight: Sarah Spencer ’98
Shadowing rehabilitation professionals at a local hospital introduced her to occupational therapy. Looking for a close-knit, hands-on program led her to Keuka College. Firewalking in the desert inspired her to open a new pediatric OT practice on a tropical island.
“It just felt right,” recalls Sarah Spencer ’98 about her first visit to KC’s lakeside campus.
Here, she dove headfirst into learning by doing. She pursued Field Period® placements in schools, clinics, and nursing facilities, witnessing OT in action across the entire human lifespan. That real-world experience equipped Sarah to establish her own pediatric OT practice that’s grounded in neuroscience and enriched by the healing arts.
Fast-forward to another transformative moment, as she was walking across a bed of thousand-degree embers in the high Sonoran Desert.
“That cracked something open in me about trusting where life leads you,” she says.
That’s also where she met her friend and business partner, who was visiting from St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Together, they established Sensational Kids Pediatric Therapy in 2021.
Sarah says the most joyful part of her practice is watching children realize what they can do.
“Once the nervous system shifts out of survival mode,” she explains, “children begin to take risks in movement, communication, and connection. They try hard things, fail, adapt, and eventually succeed. Being invited into that process is something I never take for granted.”
Nor does she ever take for granted the beauty of her surroundings.
“I love hiking and snorkeling, and sunsets over the sea never get old.”
Where could an OT degree take YOU?
Start exploring today: keuka.edu/ot 🔗
