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Occupational Therapy
A birth injury caused Mark Larsen ‘26OTD, MSOT ‘20, some trouble with his shoulder and arm that resulted in nerve damage. So, growing up, he was exposed to not only surgeries to help correct the issue, but also occupational therapy, physical therapy, and hand therapy.
It’s no surprise then that the experience stuck with him.
“Part of it was that my whole upper extremity was weak post-surgery,” said Larsen. “I was in hand therapy for a time and could see myself in that position.”
Messiah University graduate Larsen said he didn’t exactly have a single “lightbulb moment” that led him to pursue hand therapy as a career. But while he was in college, he and his mother were discussing what path he should take after earning his 2016 degree in Health and Exercise Science.
“It seemed like a fun job and one where you could help people,” he said. “There are a lot of opportunities and settings you can work in.”
That led Larsen to the Occupational Therapy (OT) program at Drexel University’s Elkins Park campus, when it was still known as Salus University before the two institutions merged in July 2025. There, he found a more intimate setting with a more personal touch from the professors.
“I had my one-on-one interview, and we talked about why I wanted to do OT and what my outlook was. Every other program I looked into, there was more of a group interview, and I didn’t have the same experience.”
Larsen said the Master of Science in Occupational Therapy program provided him with outstanding fieldwork placements in hand therapy, which rigorously prepared him for his profession.
After graduating in 2020, Larsen began pursuing his post-professional doctorate in OT, but real life had other plans in the name of Hurricane Ida. In early September 2021, the hurricane hit the East Coast and flooded his home in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. There was water halfway up the first floor of the home, and Larsen and his wife had to be rescued in a boat by the fire department.
That caused him to pause his pursuit of a doctorate, which he picked back up in 2025 with the encouragement and support from Andrea Tyszka, OTD ‘18, MS, OTR/L, SIPT, director of the Post-professional Doctorate in OT program at the Elkins Park campus. Larsen recently successfully defended his capstone project and will graduate in June 2026, the first time the OT students will graduate as part of the College of Nursing and Health Professions (CNHP) at Drexel since the merger with Salus.
While at the company where he works now, Larsen earned his Certified Hand Therapist (CHT) certificate and has been overseeing students from the current Drexel OT program to teach and mentor them during fieldwork placements. “I enjoy taking on the Drexel students for their fieldwork. It keeps me connected with the program,” said Larsen. “And, when I get a Drexel student, my job is easier. They get to learn so much because they can jump right in and be hands-on right away.”
He added that while he’s really enjoying where he is currently working and doing what he’s doing, at some point he would love to teach, either as an adjunct or full-time professor.
When he’s not working, Larsen spends time with his wife, Anna, and their boys, 3-and-a-half year-old Marshall and 1-year-old Ford. And, even though he lives in the middle of Philadelphia Eagles country, Larsen follows the New York Giants football team.
