VISION

Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.

Johnathan Swift

I’ve been told that everyone needs a day job. For me? That’s optometry.

Growing up, I never knew I wanted to become an eye doctor. In fact, until my junior year of undergrad, it was never even on the radar. I wanted to be a cognitive neuroscientist who studied the impact of music on the brain. However, after several summer internships fell through and I was left scrambling to find a position to complete my graduation requirement, I was willing to try most anything.

Enter optometry.

I’ll admit – it wasn’t love at first sight. (Pun intended.) It took half of optometry school for me to truly be convinced that I had made the right choice. From that point on though, there’s been no looking back.

Over the course of my training, my interest in all things neuro only grew, especially as I encountered patient after patient suffering with long-term complications from traumatic and acquired brain injuries. It only made sense for me to further my education by completing a residency in Brain Injury Vision Rehabilitation.

From there, I landed my first ‘real’ job, working as a mobile optometrist and providing care to residents at nursing homes and long-term care facilities, which is where you’ll find me now. While I enjoy the position, this experience is only meant to be a stepping stone in the path to my dream: creating an interdisciplinary out-patient clinic for brain injury patients. Here, optometry will work hand in hand with physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and (hopefully) behavioral health, to provide comprehensive care for this unique and historically under-served patient population.