SCO Student Michelle Alaimo, ’23, writes about her first year at SCO:
It’s officially the end of my first year at SCO! I can’t believe it’s already over. It seems like my classmates and I were just picking up our equipment at orientation. We have made it through so much together this year, from tough exam weeks and lab practicals to switching to online learning this spring. First semester was a challenging transition for me but getting past that made second semester feel much more manageable. I think my classmates and I were all ready for our summer break to arrive! I’m so grateful for everything I learned this year and all of the amazing friends I’ve made. Here are some of my favorite memories from first year:
Private Practice Crawl: Members of the Private Practice Club went on a “practice crawl” to 3 practices in the Memphis area. We got to meet the doctors and learn about their offices.
Convocation and homecoming: Last October, we got to celebrate homecoming weekend with the entire school and many alumni who visited.
Omega Delta Halloween party: This party was so much fun and everyone’s costumes were so great! I dressed up as one of Ms. Melissa’s Babycakes. It was right after an exam week, so everyone was ready to celebrate on Beale Street.
St. Jude Marathon Weekend: SCO had the largest team signed up for the St. Jude race weekend, which was awesome! I ran the half marathon and got to cheer on some other SCO runners doing the 5K and 10K races.
Eyeball: This year’s Eyeball was at The Columns downtown and the after party was on Beale Street.
SECO: I attended the SECO conference in Atlanta in March with some of my classmates. We got to walk around and see all the vendors who were at the conference. At the SECO student reception, we got to meet students from other optometry schools.
Since the transition to online learning this past spring, I’ve really missed seeing my classmates every day. However, we have been keeping in touch and supporting each other throughout the past few months. I am looking forward to the next time our whole class can be together again and all the memories we will make in the future!