Have you ever thought to yourself, “I want to go into healthcare, but I don’t know where to start?” If you have, then you and I already have something in common! Just like many students on the pre-health track, I went into college not knowing what I wanted to pursue.
My journey to optometry wasn’t linear and didn’t exactly start at the beginning of college. Dance was my passion my whole life and that’s all I wanted to do when I got to college. I spent all my time doing dance, hanging out with friends, and focusing on things that I enjoyed. When the pandemic hit, I couldn’t do many things or see my friends, and I felt like my life was on hold. After an initial period of denial and frustration, I decided to take control of what I could and explore my professional interests.
I started by researching various healthcare careers. I also conducted biomedical research in academic and industry environments. While I liked some of these activities, I didn’t feel like anything was right for me. Fortunately, during this time, I needed an annual eye exam. Nothing was new or different about this checkup, but optometry was something I never noticed before – until that moment. My optometrist was incredibly kind, knowledgeable, and had a meaningful impact on such a diverse group of patients. I left the clinic that day interested in learning more about this specialty.
During my optometry journey, I felt self-conscious and unfit to be an optometrist. I was someone that didn’t wear glasses. Naturally, that made some people in my life wonder why I would pursue this field. I learned a lot about myself and found that optometry was more than “just glasses and contacts” and that it offered many different fields of expertise. I gained experience through working as an optometric technician and shadowing different optometrists. I found myself enjoying the work I was doing and excited to provide care for patients. I knew optometry was right for me and strived to advocate for myself and my aspirations.
The final push for me to apply to optometry school was stumbling across a page on the MBKU website and watching the SCCO Admissions Workshop video at 3AM on a random summer night. I realized that applying to optometry school may not be as daunting as it seems to be. I felt reassured, motivated, and more confident in myself to start the application. I took all the OAT practice tests I could, took advantage of the resources that SCCO provided, diligently prepared for my interview, and ultimately secured an acceptance letter from my first choice school.
If there is one piece of advice I would give myself from the beginning, it would be not to internalize the insecurities and doubts I had. I owe a lot of my success to my family and friends. They were the ones that believed in me before I did, and they cheered me on as I opened my acceptance letter. I was fortunate to find the support I needed, and I hope to be a helpful resource for you as well. Your optometry school application process may feel lonely and stressful, but there are people at SCCO that are rooting for you! Please don’t hesitate to reach out to any of us, this is exactly what we are here for. Remember to do your due diligence, be honest with yourself, and just go for it!
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