The Illinois College of Optometry Student Blog

“There are only two days in the year that nothing can be done. One is called Yesterday and the other is called Tomorrow. Today is the right day to Love, Believe, Do and mostly Live.” -Dalai Lama XIV Every year around this time, emotions are running high. It is the start of a new quarter, the first couple weeks back for the second years, and the first few weeks of optometry school for the first years. I remember how much was packed into my first few weeks as a first year. With

I was ecstatic when my family came to visit Chicago for the first time in order to see me receive my white coat. It was a great chance to show them my new city. The only issue was (seeing as white coat at ICO is week 2 of first year), I had no idea about anything in this new city. My dad, being from NYC and used to a fast pace and plethora of amazing restaurants, immediately wanted to know where we should go for dinner following the ceremony. Me, being a Chicago newbie, had n

WOW. It hardly feels like only two weeks have gone by since I arrived at ICO. The first few days of my journey here were a daze of getting settled in, Orientation actives, and explorations of this beautiful city. In the blink of an eye, my class was able to mingle amongst ourselves while being introduced to many of the amazingly kind second years, as well as faculty/staff. I am so impressed by what a fantastic job ICO and the Orientation team did to make us feel so welcome. A

Once classes resumed last month, my fellow second years and I began working in the IEI as student clinicians. Whereas last year we were flies on a wall, observing and admiring the skills of the upperclassmen, we’re now endeavoring to provide care in the PCP program ourselves. At the end of first year, we learned how to complete a gamut of entrance and problem-based tests, evaluate the posterior pole with direct ophthalmoscopy, and determine a patient’s distance  prescription.

Suddenly, I’m a full-fledged optometry student. We just finished our first two weeks of fall quarter and most of my classmates agree that our lives are a whirlwind of classes, clubs, and even some fun (yes, there is time for that still). Taking six classes (feels like nine if you include labs) is no easy feat, but it’s still so exciting to finally be starting the final leg of my education. As the first weekend started, the class of 2017 was revved up for a little fun after a