Alumni Focus 2023
Alumni Focus on Heather Van Law (OD’83)
December 1, 2023
As a neuro-optometrist working in a Colorado Springs multi-disciplinary clinic, Heather Van Law (OD/MS’18) is the eye expert on a talented team of neurology, neurosurgery and neuropsychology specialists. Dr. Van Law chose to specialize in neuro-optometry because she was fascinated by all of the neurologic coursework in school and inspired by experiences with patients during her clinic rotations. She enthusiastically advises fourth-year #OSUopt students to consider completing an optometric residency. “I was able to set myself apart in my practice because I am residency-trained in my field: it speaks volumes of you as a clinician in the medical community,” she says.
Alumni Focus on Nancy (Sullivan) Barr (OD’83)
November 1, 2023
Trust and rapport with patients form the cornerstone of Dr. Nancy (Sullivan) Barr’s (OD’83) successful Newman, Georgia optometry practice. She advises OPT-IV students preparing to graduate and begin their career to, “Find a venue/practice setting you really enjoy. Be flexible! Don’t be afraid to be entrepreneurial.”
Alumni Focus on Jay Henry (OD/MS’98)
October 1, 2023
Each day brings something different and unique at Dr. Jay Henry’s (OD/MS’98) busy Pickerington practice, and he is happy to be the person everyone in his community thinks of when they have eye problems or questions. His Ohio State Optometry education led him to a rewarding career that has allowed him to save vision and lives. As treasurer of Ohio State’s Optometry Alumni Society and extern preceptor, Dr. Henry maintains a strong connection to his alma mater.
Alumni Focus on Cory Lappin (OD/MS’18)
September 1, 2023
As an associate optometrist at Phoenix Eye Care and the Dry Eye Center of Arizona, Dr. Cory Lappin (OD/MS’18), spends the majority of his time in the office seeing dry eye patients and running the practice’s dedicated dry eye and ocular surface disease clinic. He advises current students on the precipice of entering the profession, “Don’t be afraid to do something different. At the time I graduated, the idea of having a dedicated dry eye clinic was unheard of and many said it could not be done … The beauty of optometry is there is no one way to practice, and in my experience, those who have gone off the beaten path have been some of the most successful.”
Alumni Focus on Elizabeth Bower (OD’17)
August 1, 2023
Dr. Elizabeth Bower (OD’17) always knew she wanted to work in healthcare. When she was in high school, optometrists from Ohio State’s V.I.P. (Vision in Preschoolers) Study visited her rural county and she saw how much they enjoyed their profession. From that point on, she set her sights on optometry. Today, she lives in Northwest Ohio where she happily balances family farm life with a busy private practice.
Alumni Focus on Jeremy Lamb (OD’08)
July 1, 2023
Dr. Jeremy Lamb (OD’08) advises new Ohio State Optometry graduates to trust their education. He recalls, “I remember being a freshly graduated OD, and the Navy put me by myself in a small clinic that serviced a large number of sailors. I was petrified. Ohio State provides a world-class optometric education. I was ready and I didn’t know it. Ohio State prepares students well for practicing optometry to the fullest extent."
Alumni Focus on Jake Terry (OD/MS’22)
June 1, 2023
As a child, Ohio State was Dr. Jake Terry’s dream school. After graduating with OD and MS degrees from The Ohio State University College of Optometry in 2022 and joining the team at Clarkson Eyecare in Columbus, Dr. Terry is helping his patients visualize their dreams so they can work toward making them come true. Dr. Terry became an optometrist, “to have the ability to change a patient’s life by altering their visual perception with lenses, prisms and therapy. A HUGE part of your brain is dedicated to vision. Having the responsibility of taking care of this very important brain area is quite fulfilling.”
Alumni Focus on Jack Gardner (BS’70, OD’72)
May 1, 2023
Ohio State Optometry prepared Dr. Jack Gardner (BS’70, OD’72) for a rewarding career spanning 50 years as a self-employed private practice optometrist with three locations in the Chicago area. Dr. Gardner has enjoyed outstanding work/life balance, providing exceptional patient care while pursuing active hobbies such as marathon running and mountain climbing. Read more about Dr. Gardner in this month’s Alumni Focus.
Read more about Dr. Gardner >>
Alumni Focus on Beata Lewandowska (OD’04)
April 1, 2023
After spending 12 years in MD/OD tertiary care private practice, Dr. Beata Lewandowska (OD’04) chose to work in academia. Today, as an associate professor at the College of Optometry at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, FL, she has fond – sometimes comical – memories of her professors at Ohio State. She recalls, “Dr. Earley taught us about visual fields and how you can never sneak up on a bunny because its eyes are set further apart giving them a broader visual field. After the class, we walked outside and there it was on the side of the building, a little bunny! The theory was immediately put into practice, but this little fellow must have been very hungry and didn’t mind at all the first-year optometry students trying to sneak up on it.”
Read more about Dr. Lewandowska >>
Alumni Focus on Kirsti Roehm (OD’17)
March 1, 2023
Ohio State and the College of Optometry mean everything to Drs. Kelsey and Ben Doering (both graduated in 2017), who own a thriving practice in Northeast Ohio. “My childhood dream of being a Buckeye came true and I met the love of my life,” says Dr. Ben. Dr. Kelsey adds, “If it wasn’t for Ohio State and the College of Optometry specifically, Ben and I probably would have never met.”
Alumni Focus on Kelsey Doering (OD’17) and Ben Doering (OD’17)
February 1, 2023
Ohio State and the College of Optometry mean everything to Drs. Kelsey and Ben Doering (both graduated in 2017), who own a thriving practice in Northeast Ohio. “My childhood dream of being a Buckeye came true and I met the love of my life,” says Dr. Ben. Dr. Kelsey adds, “If it wasn’t for Ohio State and the College of Optometry specifically, Ben and I probably would have never met.”
Read more about Drs. Kelsy and Ben Doering >>
Alumni Focus on Dr. Paul Grigsby (OD’21)
January 1, 2023
Dr. Paul Grigsby (OD’21) left a career as an artificial intelligence software engineer to study optometry at Ohio State. Today, as a U.S. Navy optometrist practicing in Guam, he enjoys a rewarding career helping military members and their dependents, while appreciating amazing work-life balance.