I thought it would be appropriate to share what got me started down the path to becoming an optometrist. I had put in a year at BYU and served a 2-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormon church) to India. I was now back at BYU again and struggling on a career choice. I knew I wanted to be able to help people in a one-on-one setting. This was something instilled in me on my mission. I was searching for a profession that I enjoyed and was challenging. I also wanted to earn enough money to support a future family while having time available to spend with them. Optometry provided all of these things for me.
My friend’s dad was an optometrist. I thought his job sounded interesting so I asked if I could talk to him about optometry. He offered to have me come shadow him in the office. I enjoyed my interactions and the shadowing experience. I took an Intro to Optometry course in school and got more shadowing experience. I grew to love optometry. These events helped solidify my decision to go into optometry. For me, it is the dream profession.