Student Life Blogs

These past few months brought many changes and lots of new opportunities. At the end of summer semester, my wife, son, and I packed up our house and said goodbye to Memphis. It was difficult to leave so many friends behind in the city that we had come to call home for the past three years. As we drove across the Mississippi for the last time my wife, with tears in her eyes, remarked on how ironic it was that she had also cried when we first got to our new home in Memphis but for much... Read More

One of the biggest hurdles (if not THE biggest) that 3 rd year optometry students face is Part 1 of National Boards. For optometry students, it’s “The Other Big Dance” in March, and it tests on almost every classroom subject covered within the first 3 years of school. With the massive amount of material that the exam covers and the extensive studying that’s required, there’s little time or energy left for much else during the months leading up to March. If... Read More

It’s amazing to realize I’m just about finished with my second semester of clinic as a third-year student. Thinking back on all of my patient encounters to this point, it’s incredible how diverse of a population there is here in Memphis. Even more diverse than the population has been the array of ocular conditions, diseases, and other diagnoses that I’ve been able to see. Third-year students are assigned to Adult Primary care once a week, then rotate through various... Read More

One of my favorite memories as a kid was being able to go with my dad and a few other eye doctors on a humanitarian trip to Guatemala. At the time, I had very limited optometry knowledge but was able to help them provide glasses to the locals after they had received comprehensive eye exams – many of them for the first time in their lives. It was such a memorable experience and I remember thinking that if I ever went into optometry I’d love to many similar trips in my career. ... Read More

2016 is in the books! I heard a great piece of wisdom the other day when someone was speaking about New Year resolutions. He said, " When making a goal to change in some way, record  why  you are making that change and reference it  daily ." I felt like this was incredibly insightful and applicable to my optometric education. It's amazing to realize how far I've come over the past year, and it has been an extremely rewarding experience. Second year... Read More