Striving for resilience

December 11, 2023

Caretaker and giver are just a few roles that have resonated with Ingride Livesthine Laboum Mbianga throughout her life.

After moving from Douala, Cameroon to the United States 10 years ago, Bastaic embarked on a journey of self-discovery and independence with the goal of bringing meaningful insights into occupational therapy and overall well-being back to her community.

Before moving to the U.S., Bastaic studied private law for three years. But she found her true calling in health when she discovered TU’s graduate occupational therapy program in the College of Health Professions.

“It is with pride that I say I attended Towson University.”

Bastaic was drawn to TU because of its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. She was looking for a career that would help her empower the people she worked with and a university that would help her achieve that goal—TU embodied this for her. 

With French being her first language, Bastaic took intensive English language courses to learn the language. Once she came to TU, she was able to excel in her studies and, at every turn, had a professor or peer who was willing and dedicated to making her feel supported.

Despite commuting to campus, Bastaic found building a sense of community on campus relatively seamless. Through the encouragement of associate professor Dr. Sonia Lawson, Bastaic helped revive TU’s chapter of the Coalition of Occupational Therapy Advocates for Diversity (COTAD) as a co-chair.

In collaboration with her co-chair, Bastaic wrote the bylaws, created a social media account and helped the organization connect with other COTAD organizations and health professionals. The TU COTAD chapter actively engages students, faculty and community members in initiatives that promote justice-informed and inclusive approaches in occupational therapy education and practice.

Reviving the COTAD chapter at TU was challenging but significant work for Bastaic.

“It was important to make sure we made an impact not only professionally but also within TU. The message we are trying to share is poignant, and it relates to what we do on a daily basis and the biases that exist [in the field],” she says. “It is very important to me, and we did some really good work.”

The experiential knowledge Bastaic gained throughout her time in the program is invaluable. Like all students in the occupational therapy program, she has spent the last six months of her studies applying all she has learned over the past two and a half years through clinical rotations off campus. 

She is finishing the second rotation of level two of her clinical rotations, at an inpatient psychiatric unit. Throughout her 12 weeks, she has conducted evaluations, scribed notes and designed and implemented science-based occupational therapy sessions for patients with schizophrenia, depression, borderline personality disorder, among others.

“TU does great work providing us with amazing experiences. My program tailors education to the in-person experience we need to consolidate what we’ve learned and apply it to the real world,” Bastaic says.

Bastaic’s commitment to her degree and career path is evident in the ways in which she shows up to work. She works between 48–50 hours a week, commuting from her home in Montgomery County to Towson where she stays four nights a week to complete her rotations.

A dream of Bastaic’s is to one day open her own occupational therapy clinic in her hometown in Cameroon. She believes the opportunity to share knowledge with her family members and communities not as familiar with the benefits of occupational therapy could be valuable.

She hopes to one day educate others on disabilities, especially at the government level, and help directly facilitate change.

CHP Assistant Professor Ashley Lankford looks forward to seeing what the future holds for Ingride as she begins her career. "Ingride shined as a passionate leader in her time as a student in TU's Masters of Occupational Therapy program. She brought a global perspective during class discussions and demonstrated strong advocacy skills through her involvement in the Coalition of Occupational Therapy Advocates for Diversity (COTAD) chapter at TU," Lankford says.

"I know she will be a positive influence in the lives of her patients as well as the profession of occupational therapy." 

With the compassion of faculty and staff in CHP, Bastaic felt consistently supported. She credits their dedication to self-care as playing a huge role in her feeling set up for success.

One of the most challenging units for Bastaic was pediatrics. Growing up in Cameroon, there were cultural differences between raising children in the U.S. that she was unfamiliar with. Professor Ashley Lankford coached and encouraged Bastaic throughout this unit and helped her understand the differences clearly.

“You know when you feel like you don’t know enough but someone tells you you know more than you think? Professor Lankford told me to stop doubting myself and reassured me of my knowledge and experience,” Bastaic says.

As the only African woman in her program’s graduating class, this support helped reaffirm her confidence in herself.

Her final year at TU was marked by exciting milestones and joyful news on the horizon, from getting married to presenting at the Maryland Occupational Therapy Association as a student researcher and serving as the student speaker for the CHP Commencement ceremony.

Bastaic and her husband are also looking forward to the birth of their first child—who will be joining their mother, in utero, as she speaks to her graduating class on Dec. 20.

Bastaic’s advice for other students is clear.

“Strive for resilience. It is up to you to make the choice to be an excellent student and a leader of tomorrow.”