Employee Focus on Michelle Buckland
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Name: Michelle Buckland (OD/MS'06)
Current Title: Associate Professor
Hometown: Ottawa, Ohio (and now Grove City, Ohio)
Degrees and Institutions Attended: BS (Centre College), OD/MS Ohio State
Years of Employment at the College: 17
Q&A
What brought you to the College of Optometry?
I attended Optometry School at Ohio State, graduating in the class of 2006 and was never able to fully leave clinical teaching even after a brief period in which I was more focused on private practice.
Describe your typical day at work or describe your position/role.
My typical day at work changes each semester. You can usually find me providing patient care with clinical teaching in the Pediatric, Binocular Vision or Vision Therapy clinics. In the spring, I am in the classroom teaching vision therapy procedures to second-year students. Throughout the entire year, I am working with our binocular vision and pediatric resident.
What brings you the most joy in your work?
An intern experiencing a moment in which the care that they provide affects a patient’s quality of life. This may be a child who is now comfortable reading after treating their convergence insufficiency and becoming an honor student. This could also be working with a traumatic brain injury patient and hearing they were able to return to work after relieving their visual symptoms.
What advice would you give to a new employee at the college?
My advice would be to find your team that supports you both inside and outside the walls of the college.
What do you do for fun outside of work?
Typically, you will find me supporting Grove City sports and music events for my kids. When I am not cheering for them, you can find me running, doing yoga, planning our next family adventure or reading a good book by the pool.
What is your go to Columbus/neighborhood eatery?
My house (my husband is a great cook).
What would you do if you won the lottery?
I would take more family adventures and vacations.
What was your first job?
The summer after high school graduation I was an administrative assistant at my hometown government office. I had to receive in-person payments for people’s water bills.
Which letter in the iconic O-H-I-O photo op pose do you prefer to be and why?
Anything but the H, as I have long arms and completely mess up the spacing.