Southern Tech and Murray State Colleges partner to provide students occupational therapy pathway

TISHOMINGO, Okla. (KXII) - On Friday, Southern Tech made things official with Murray State College, guaranteeing 5 medical assistant students at Southern Tech will have a spot in Murray State’s occupational therapy program.

“What we really want to do is to create an environment where students are less worried about getting admission, and more worried about getting the skills and experience that they need to be successful,” Murray State College President Dr. Tim Faltyn said.

Faltyn also says this partnership brings more opportunities for students, “We’re better together than either one of us could be by ourselves, and so when we have a student that knows where they wanna go and what they wanna do, I think its our responsibility to work together so that student can get to where they want to be as quickly as possible.”

Southern Tech superintendent Dr. Eric Ward says its not just opening up career paths, but higher education paths too.

“It was either college or technical school, and we’re getting to the point where its technical school and college, which is a big step for the students in the community that we serve,” Ward said.

Jayne Campanini with Murray State says it’s good news for patients in rural southern Oklahoma, making the treatment more accessible.

“I’m really excited for this opportunity to really get into some rural areas, occupational therapy assistants tend to be out in those areas that occupational therapists are not.”

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