On Sunday, July 9^th, 2023, the Occupational Therapy profession lost a genuinely wonderful person and significant member of our community, Lands Banks. Lands served as the Manager of Administration and Facilities for AOTA for over 25 years. Lands was an integral part of AOTA, a man with a magnetic and uplifting personality who was always there to help friends, colleagues, and family members. His passing leaves a large hole in the hearts of all those who knew him and those impacted by his work.

AOTF, AOTA, and its donors have created the Lands Banks Memorial Scholarship in Occupational Therapy to honor his memory and further his legacy.  

Thanks to the generosity of friends, family, colleagues, and dozens of occupational therapists, the Lands Banks Memorial Scholarship is now endowed! AOTF is highly grateful to all the donors who have helped secure this scholarship forever and keep Lands’ spirit alive by helping future generations of occupational therapy students.  You may continue to give to bolster this scholarship and increase the annual award.

The Lands Banks Memorial Scholarship in Occupational Therapy will provide financial aid to support a student in pursuing their degree. Eligible candidates must be pursuing an entry-level degree, i.e., OTA, MOT, MSOT, or OTD, at an AOTA-accredited US institution, enrolled as a full-time student, and have completed at least one year of coursework.

In addition, candidates for this scholarship must demonstrate their involvement in community service and/or service leadership.

Preference for this scholarship will be given to students from historically under-represented minorities in occupational therapy.

The annual scholarship award will be $2,000.

The Lands Banks Memorial Scholarship in Occupational Therapy will provide financial aid to support a student in pursuit of their degree.  Eligible candidates must be pursuing an entry-level degree, i.e., OTA, MOT, MSOT or OTD at an AOTA accredited US institution, must be enrolled as a full-time student, and must have completed at least one year of coursework. In addition, candidates for this scholarship must demonstrate their role in community service and/or a service leadership role. Preference for this scholarship will be given to students from historically under-represented minorities in the field of occupational therapy.

Tracey Recigno has been an OT for almost 20 years, working in acute care, inpatient rehab, and now in the academic setting. She is the program director for Hawai`i Pacific University’s developing hybrid Doctor of Occupational Therapy program in Honolulu. While the program is located in Oahu, her primary residence is in South New Jersey, outside of Philadelphia. Her occupational roles include wife, mom, friend, daughter, animal lover, traveler, lifelong learner, and OT! Tracey earned her BS/MS in OT from Elizabethtown College in 2005, her OTD from Thomas Jefferson University in 2009, and most recently completed a PhD in Health Sciences at the University of South Dakota in 2022.  Her passion and the focus of her scholarly and service activities is leadership development in occupational therapy students and practitioners. She also has a strong interest in the scholarship of teaching and learning as it relates to critical thinking. As vice president, Tracey hopes to help reimagine the membership eligibility criteria to increase access and best support the mission, purpose, and ideals of Pi Theta Epsilon.