Where Are They Now: Rachel Picciotto, MSOT ‘18

When Jon Bon Jovi and Jennifer Nettles sang the lyrics, “Who says you can’t go home? There’s only one place they call me one of their own,” they could very well have been referring to Rachel Picciotto, MSOT ‘18.

Right after she graduated from the Occupational Therapy (OT) program at what was then Salus University, prior to its merger with Drexel University in July 2025, Picciotto started looking for a job. Some hometown friends from Hampstead, Maryland, north of Baltimore, who worked at Autumn Lake at Longview, a skilled nursing facility, alerted her to an opening there for a full-time OT.

“I basically went home,” said Picciotto. “It wasn’t necessarily what I was planning on, but I had an interview there and fell in love with it. And I’ve been there ever since.”

Picciotto knew she wanted a career in health sciences or the medical profession, so during her undergraduate training in exercise science at High Point University in High Point, North Carolina, she began looking into occupational therapy because it has a large scope of practice and provides many career opportunities.

“I was interested in improving the client’s quality of life,” she said.

That led her to the Salus program, where she was drawn to its curriculum and its interprofessional learning opportunities.

“When I went there for my interview, I remember the faculty and staff and everyone I was meeting there was warm and friendly,” said Picciotto. “It seemed like a good environment there.”

Indeed it was. Picciotto was introduced to the strong clinical partnerships and top-shelf field opportunities offered by the OT program. She found the professors very hands-on and approachable, willing to answer any questions the students had.

Since starting her career at Autumn Lake at Longview, she first advanced to director of rehabilitation in that facility. Then a year and a half ago, she became regional director for the facility’s parent company, Ultimate Therapy/Stern Rehab.

In that role, Picciotto oversees 10 different facilities in Maryland, North Jersey and Wisconsin, where she provides clinical support to the directors and department staff members. Her company has not only hired graduates of the Drexel OT program, but has provided externship opportunities for students in the program.

When she’s not at work, Picciotto and her husband Evan keep busy with their three children between the ages of seven and three. She was pregnant with the oldest child during her last clinical rotation at Salus and took the boards while seven months pregnant.

She said she’s happy with where she’s at and what she’s doing now.

“We’ll see how it goes. It’s a newer role that I’m in and I’m seeing where it takes me,” she said.