Reflection
In summer 2015, Winifred Scott ‘57 BS OT, finalized a donation to the college that established the Winifred E. Phillips Scott Occupational Therapy Scholarship Fund, earmarked for OT students who have financial need and demonstrate a desire to practice professionally in African-American communities.
Not only is Dr. Scott an alumna; she was also head of the Department of Occupational Therapy for five years ending in 1986, when she was succeeded by Gary Kielhofner. After leaving UIC she went on to a second career as an organizational development consultant in the area of diversity. At 81, she has no immediate plans to retire.
We wondered about Dr. Scott’s experiences as an African-American OT student in the 1950s and as the college’s only African-American department head in history. We invited Briana Bonner---a current OT student, also a woman, also African-American---to conduct the interview. Happily, she agreed.
Briana, a first-generation college student, was a McNair Scholar as an undergraduate at Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo. The 23-year-old standout student will complete her master’s degree in occupational therapy in July 2016 and intends to pursue a doctorate at AHS.
Briana went to Dr. Scott’s apartment along Lake Michigan in Chicago’s Kenwood neighborhood for this candid conversation.
Briana Bonner: When I was entering UIC, I was thinking that I would be the only one African-American OT student. And then, going through the history [presented by clinical associate professor of OT Gail Fisher], your face popped up on the PowerPoint! So it’s a great honor to be sitting here with you.
Dr. Winifred Scott: Thank you, Briana