“The purpose of human life is to serve and to show compassion and the will to help others” – Albert Schweitzer
Dr. Michael Earley- Associate Dean for the OSU College of Optometry, Myself, Dr. Jackie Davis- my Academic Mentor, and Dr. Jerry Davis- OSU Athletic Department, my site-mentor, and my brother-in-law. It was such a great evening to have my key supporters and Dr. Earley from the College to help me celebrate my awards.
It has been quite some time since my last blog post but that is just another example of how quickly time has passed by. Since my last blog post, I spent a week in Jamaica on a mission trip through Fellowship of Christian Optometrists, I completed my final examinations of my Second year of school, I finished out my year of service as an Albert Schweitzer Fellow representing OSU and the College of Optometry, and I was honored to be chosen for the Professional Student Award for Excellence in Community Service through the Office of Engagement and Student Life here at The Ohio State University. I have since begun my third year of Optometry School and am currently working a full day in the Primary Vision Clinic, an afternoon in the Eyewear Gallery, and an afternoon helping patients with Vision Therapy. All while attending our summer classes. As crazy as this all sounds I am as happy as can be here at Ohio State.
Jamaica was an absolutely wonderful experience as we saw one week post-op examinations of patients who had just had cataract surgery. Many of the patients had been blind for several years due to the cataracts and were seeing for the first time in one of their eyes which made for many incredible and heart-warming moments. It is incredible to think about all of the clinical experiences that I was able to witness and assist in treating throughout the three days that we spent in the clinic. We also had the privilege to go out into a local primary school (elementary school) to screen their vision and find the kids that need more immediate attention. This was an amazing experience as the kids were so excited to see our smiling faces and open arms. Overall the week was yet another life-changing experience that I am so very grateful to have had experienced. I am very lucky to have grown up in a very small knit rural community that was so generous as to sponsor my trip to Jamaica. I would like thank Deshler Lions Club, Napoleon Lions Club, Holgate Lions Club, St. Paul’s Catholic Disciples of Christ, Dr. Jeffrey S. Lauf, Sue and Katy Hammer, and my parents. It was all thanks to these caring people that I am so thankful to have been able to have the amazing experience in Jamaica that I did.
Throughout the past month I also wrapped up my year as an Albert Schweitzer Fellow. Over the past year I have developed a program where I along with some of my classmates and Doctors within the college screened the vision of over 300 kids at LiFE Sports Camp (Learning in Fitness and Education). This is a free sports camp for the underserved population of Columbus. This was an amazing experience as we were all able to improve our clinical skills while helping to screen the vision and educate the kids about their eyes. I have also found a passion in educating kids about the importance of their vision and the warning signs of when something might be changing. So I took the proven program called Real Eyes which was created by the Ohio Optometric Association and have presented it to over 1,500 kids in Columbus, Toledo, and Henry county area over the past year. This has been such a rewarding experience to get to work with kids and see them become excited to learn about their eyes. Then it was through this program that I was chosen for the Professional Student Award for Excellence in Community Service through the Office of Outreach and Engagement at the University. This was such an honor and was quite a fun day to attend the ceremony and poster sessions of all of the service programs going on throughout the entire university.
Overall the past two months have been quite a whirlwind but things are starting to slow down. I am loving the days that I have spent in clinic so far. In our classes this summer it is said that this is when we as Optometry Students really find what aspects we LOVE about Optometry such as Binocular vision, Pediatrics, Contact Lenses, or several other topics. It continues to be a very exciting time here in the College as third years and I am thrilled for everything that I am to learn this summer.