December 2025 marked the graduation of UAB’s third cohort of entry-level OTD students, as well as a milestone for two Department of Occupational Therapy faculty. Haley Veloz, (formerly Haley Curry), OTD, OTR/L, and Jason Vice, PhD, OTR/L, SCLV, both graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) MSOT program in December 2015. A decade later, they are preparing future occupational therapists in the classrooms where their own professional journeys began.

December 2015: Dr. Veloz receives her academic hood signifying her MSOT degree from Drs. Jenkins and Cunningham. For Dr. Veloz, the anniversary came into focus when she rediscovered a photo from her graduation, showing Gavin Jenkins, PhD, OTR/L, now professor and department chair, and Assistant Professor Deek Cunningham, PhD, OTR/L, SIPT (#2623), FAOTA, placing the academic hood signifying her MSOT degree. Another pivotal memory from her student days was attending her first Alabama Occupational Therapy Association conference.

“That was one of the first times I felt like I was part of the profession,” she said. “Meeting other OTs, hearing my professors present, and being part of that made it feel real.”

After graduation, Dr. Veloz pursued inpatient rehabilitation, eventually relocating to Las Vegas, where she specialized in neurorehabilitation, mentored fieldwork students, and developed as a leader. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she was her hospital’s first occupational therapist to evaluate a patient with the virus. As the pandemic receded, she began teaching as an adjunct at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, an experience that helped clarify her interest in academia.

In a virtual return to UAB, Dr. Veloz completed her post-professional OTD while based in Las Vegas. Two years later, she returned to Birmingham and joined the faculty as academic fieldwork coordinator, working closely with entry-level OTD students and clinical partners to support fieldwork education. “Being part of a group of people I respected so much as a student, I wanted them to be proud of me, and to be able to say they’re happy I represent the program,” she said.

Dr. Vice’s path from UAB OT student to faculty member was more direct. Soon after graduating, he began teaching in the department and seeing patients at the UAB Center for Low Vision Rehabilitation.

Dr. Jason Vice welcomes attendees to a reception at the Low Vision Matters More Conference in South Africa. Dr. Vice, who began his professional life in another field, noted, “One thing I learned in the workforce is that I genuinely enjoy teaching people how to do new things. So, when a professor asked who might be interested in teaching or academia, I saw it as an opportunity took the chance to put my hand up.”

Today, he teaches in both the entry-level OTD program and UAB’s Graduate Certificate in Low Vision Rehabilitation, while maintaining a specialized clinical practice at the Center for Low Vision Rehabilitation. There, Dr. Vice works with children and adults using assistive technology, adaptive strategies, and environmental modifications to support daily function and independence. He is also one of the only occupational therapists in the state who provides initial training in bioptic telescopes, which allows some individuals with low vision to meet the requirements for legal driving and attain a much-desired level of independence.

His work extends well beyond UAB and Alabama. Alongside Professor Beth Barstow, PhD, OTR/L, SCLV, FAOTA, Dr. Vice has helped lead low vision training programs in Johannesburg, South Africa, that educate attendees on foundational concepts and assessment and intervention for vision loss. Drs. Vice and Barstow also traveled to Florence, Italy this fall for an international vision conference where they led instructional courses and highlighted strategies for expanding global access to vision rehabilitation education and practice.

Together, Dr.'s Veloz and Vice represent a full-circle moment, from MSOT students shaped by UAB OT to faculty shaping its future. Their return reflects a culture in which graduates remain connected to the department and the department holds the people it helped train in high regard.