Happy summer from one happy member of the Class of 2017! It’s hard to believe that we’re already done with our first year of optometry school and are a few days into our “last summer ever.” I figured this would be a good time to recap my experiences as a first year student to summarize what can be expected.
When I first moved to Memphis from the Houston area, I was worried that the transition from college in my home state to optometry school in a new state might be a tough one. Luckily, SCO made the transition easy. Having 131 classmates who I already had so much in common with was a major plus – especially since the majority of us did move to Memphis from somewhere else around the same time. Thankfully, we were able to quickly build a support system here before classes even began in the fall. I moved up about a month before school started, which gave me time to get settled in my new home and adjust to living in Memphis. I spent that month stocking up on school supplies and everything I thought I might need to start life as an optometry student. Once student orientation rolled around in late August, I was more than ready to start!
When classes began in the fall, a lot of us didn’t know what to expect academically. We all come from different backgrounds and different colleges, so adjusting to our courses in the fall was a different experience for everybody. For myself, the major adjustment was in the volume. In college, I always worked 20+ hours a week and had no problem finding time to devote to my studies. In the fall here at SCO, we were taking six courses (many of which included a lab) and all of them required a lot of time outside of class. Once I adjusted to devoting more of my “free time” to schoolwork, the transition wasn’t bad. The courses were manageable and the labs were interesting. By the time I got into a routine, had my family come for our White Coat Ceremony, and got adjusted to my new Saturday job, it already seemed like it was time for finals. I thought the fall semester flew by, but it was nothing compared to the spring.
My second semester at SCO was a busy one, and it seemed to go by in the blink of an eye. Academically, the spring semester was pretty similar to the fall. However, we knew the ropes a little better and already knew the majority of our professors, so it seemed to get off to a smoother start. Between my new role as a Student Ambassador at SCO, having even more courses than we had in the fall, applying for scholarships and travel grants, and preparing for my half marathon, the semester absolutely flew. Before I knew it, it was time to start figuring out my summer plans and preparing for finals. Finals were a little rougher in the spring because we had seven (instead of five) and they were all in one school week (rather than broken up with a weekend in between). When it was finally Friday at 12:30 and we were done with our last final, we were a happy crowd! Many of us (including myself) enjoyed a weekend of beautiful weather at the Beale Street Music Festival downtown – which was perfectly timed for post-finals celebration!
I am spending my summer break staying in Memphis and working full-time to save a little bit of money. However, a good number of my classmates went home for the break to relax and spend time with family. My only plan this summer besides my job is to head to Philadelphia for the AOA Optometry’s Meeting in June, which I am really excited about! It should be a great experience and a good way to make some connections and learn a little more about optometry. Other than that, I have a few various events taking place this summer for the Student Ambassador program including helping out at the Class of 2014’s graduation ceremony this Friday, volunteering at a Career Fair for children next week, and of course the Class of 2018’s student orientation in August!
Overall, I learned a TON as a first year student and I had a blast doing it. While it was stressful at times, having a group of awesome classmates made it enjoyable. There are a lot of ways to get involved at SCO, and joining organizations makes being an optometry student a lot of fun. Joining organizations is a great way to meet students in other classes and learn more about specific aspects of optometry.
That pretty much sums up my first year. The bottom line is that being a first year student is a lot of work, but it’s definitely worth it. Only three more years to go! :-)