Alumni Spotlight: Dr. Jodi Vogel

Dr. Jodi Vogel was in the first cohort of the Occupational Therapy doctoral (OTD) program in 2015 at Kettering College. She graduated in 2018 and her career has taken her to places she did not expect, most notably a farm.

Dr. Vogel is an adjunct professor here who treats students with the same encouragement and support she says she received as a student from her professors. When she’s not on our campus in the Ollie Davis building, she can be found on 20 acres in Eaton, as a co-owner at Triangle Therapy Services, a private practice dedicated to pediatric therapy done in an outdoor setting.   

She has always known she wanted to work with children, but when she worked in a school setting in the past, she had a feeling she might want to be more creative with her modalities but wasn’t sure how. She says after earning her OTD degree here, her advanced degree created more opportunities for her, such as working at Triangle Therapy Services. When the owner was looking for a co-owner, Dr. Vogel knew she was on the right path in her career and stepped up to that leadership role.

She works with several clients who have autism, neurological sensory processing disorders, and Down Syndrome. She says, “Nature allows them to work on skills without them really knowing they’re working on them. We really try to incorporate that play occupation and make it playful and joyful for the kids. When you’re in the pediatric population, you learn your skills through play, and animals work as a motivation.”

Practicing occupational therapy on a farm in the woods next to a creek is something Dr. Vogel says is a great fit for her. When she was an OTD student, her professors at Kettering College told her to “think outside the box” when working with clients, and that is what she does every day with each unique client on the farm. She says, “I like that I can use my traditional therapy practices in a non-traditional setting. I get to explore and focus on play as the occupation. The children I work with don’t even know it’s therapy.”

Dr. Vogel continually helps other OTD students who are in the same stage of their lives as she once was. She takes on clinical students and recently worked on the farm with a student completing her Capstone at Kettering College. She values the importance of supporting students to try new things. She mentors them by reminding them to think creatively and be open to the possibilities of where their careers can go. Her life is the best example to illustrate this lesson.

From being an OTD student at Kettering College to now being an adjunct professor and co-owner of a private practice, she has gained the knowledge and experience it takes to confidently know she is exactly where she was meant to be. She says, “God always works in mysterious ways. You think you know what your plan is, but you totally don’t.”

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