Most occupational therapy students don’t take a class that involves building a house or helping government officials define terms for land ordinance codes.
But Maria Steffen, a second-year occupational therapy master s degree candidate at Colorado State University, had some open space in her semester and had always been interested in alternate housing. So, she enrolled in a course entitled “Design Thinking Collaborative” in which students would create a tiny home and learn more about affordable housing alternatives.
This spring, Steffen and 23 other students representing eight fields of study at CSU have been working to design, model and build a tiny home on campus with the goal of starting conversations and creating awareness about affordable housing and different dwelling options.