As if serving in the U.S. Air Force for 22 years wasn’t challenging enough, Belfazar Grant started a second career equally as vigorous and rewarding.
After a career in human resources and administration in the military, Grant decided to pursue his master’s degree in Occupational Therapy.
“I always wanted to do something that helped people,” said Grant, who has a bachelor’s degree from Liberty University.
He had been thinking about healthcare for a while and was working at a church after his discharge. “On my way home from work, I thought, ‘I need to stop thinking about this and just do it.’”
If you want to learn about entering the healthcare field, connecting with the largest healthcare provider in the area seems to make sense. That’s exactly what Grant did. He drove straight to the AdventHealth hospital in Apopka to ask for advice from care providers on what his next steps should be. The front-desk person told him the doctors were with patients and mentioned that AdventHealth had a university that offered healthcare education.
He scheduled a tour of the campus of AdventHealth University, a small Christian university, and applied. The GI Bill helped pay for his tuition. Grant originally thought he might want to go into radiography, but his interest was piqued when he met an occupational therapy assistant. He was soon on a 2 ½ year journey to earn his master’s degree in occupational therapy.
“The master’s degree professors were awesome,” Grant, 56, said. “They made you fall in love with the career field. They really made it desirable to come to class every day.”
As a second-career student, Grant took full advantage of AHU’s resources. “Being an older student gave me a different perspective. Like tutoring … I think I lived there my first couple of years.”
Grant earned his degree in 2014 and serves as an occupational therapist at NeuLife Rehabilitation, a post-acute inpatient rehabilitation center in Mount Dora, Florida, that specializes in treating patients with brain and spinal cord injuries. There, he says, he finds hope and strength in performing innovative occupational rehabilitation with patients.
He encourages those who have dreams they’ve yet to achieve or are unfulfilled in their current careers to consider making the leap regardless of their age.
“If it is something you want to do, go ahead and try it,” Grant said. “Sometimes change is difficult. Take the first step. If you never step, you’ll never know.”
AdventHealth’s Occupational Therapy program includes an associate’s degree in occupational therapy assistant and master’s degree in occupational therapy.
