As I begin this journey to serve you, I can’t help but stop and reminisce about the road that has led me here. We often hear the expression you can’t move forward if you’re looking back, yet the past helps make us who we are. I have been very fortunate to have so many amazing people influence and encourage me in life. My earliest memories come from sitting in front of a little Casio keyboard at the tender age of 3. I admit, that I wasn’t the biggest fan of the piano at first. My parents saw in me a talent. They encouraged me and out of that persistence came a deep appreciation for one of my greatest loves-music. My music instructors always drew from me the perfect combination of structure and enjoyment; history and contemporary. My childhood piano teacher, mentor, and friend helped cultivate in me a love of traditional hymns and pipe organ. The idea of being connected to people from centuries past is still humbling. She, along with my high school piano teacher, also showed me the beauty of being whimsical- finding sheer joy in simple melodies. Lastly, it was my high school band instructors that pushed me to excel. They taught me to appreciate simultaneously the technical and artistic sides of music. It is in music that I found my ability to wonder and dream and my comfort to think and study.
In optometry school, we did A LOT of thinking, studying, and wondering. We were instructed on the most modern scientific advances in eye care. At The Ohio State University College of Optometry, we were privileged to have some of the brightest minds in eye care as our instructors. They were (and are) actively searching for newer and better ways to treat our patients. Those of us that participated in the master’s research programs were granted the honor of working alongside them. We were encouraged to “wonder and think.” We were encouraged to answer a question still unanswered. Even in the quest for science, they kept us rooted in tradition. They reminded us that we stood on the shoulders of those that had gone before us, not just in science but in compassion. They showed us the delight on a child’s face who could see for the first time, the confidence in a child that could now read without losing his place, the relief in a brain injury patient’s smile knowing she could now function without double vision.
Our instructors showed us we need both science and compassion to provide the best care. They emphasized the importance of the new and the old, the contemporary and the traditional. And so begins the journey of Modern Heritage Eye Care. Our commitment to you is to always question, always learn, always do better. Yet we also make these commitments to you: to remember the traditions that have led us to where we are, to take the time to listen, answer, care and understand. We’re here for you. The future is bright. We look forward to thinking and wondering and reminiscing with you.