Alumni Focus on Jake Terry (OD/MS’22)
DR. TERRY'S STORY
Hometown
Lancaster County, PA
Which institution did you attend for your undergraduate degree? What was your major?
Salisbury University
Major: Biology
Minor: Chemistry
Which degree(s), related to optometry, did you earn at Ohio State?
OD/MS’22
Who were your mentors at the College of Optometry? Who had a positive effect on your education?
Dr. Nicklaus Fogt, Dr. Abigail Menner, Dr. Andrew Toole and Dr. Aaron Zimmerman
DR. TERRY'S CAREER IN OPTOMETRY
Name of your employer(s) and title, including location.
Optometrist at Clarkson Eyecare in Columbus, Ohio
Give us a glimpse of your typical day as an optometrist.
At our practice, we have a vision therapy clinic with occupational therapists who do AMAZING work. My typical day includes seeing comprehensive eye exams as well as a couple of neuro-optometric eye exams (post-TBI patients, post-stroke patients and developmentally delayed children and adults). On occasion, I also see athletes for sports vision training. My favorite part of each day is checking in on patients of mine who are enrolled in vision therapy or multisensory training (MST). It is incredibly rewarding to observe my patients overcome their vision deficits and regain their “normal” lives back.
Which optometric issues concern you the most?
The diagnosis of developmental disorders in children who have an underlying binocular vision issue. I try to advocate to all of my patients with kids or expecting kids the recommended time for children to receive comprehensive eye exams. I love the InfantSEE program! This program is super important not only to screen these babies, but also to educate the parents about normal development of the visual system and vision-related problems to look out for.
Why did you choose a career in optometry?
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. Also, I don’t like blood or needles …
Where do you hope to see your optometric career in five years?
Hopefully I will be getting ready to open up my own sports vision private practice. I am more of a go-with-the-flow kind of guy. When appealing opportunities present themselves, I jump on them. So, who knows where life will take me in the next five years.
What is one piece of advice you can give OPT-IV students as they prepare to graduate and begin their optometric careers?
You can’t be great at everything. Find your niche in the optometry world and get really good at a specialty that gives you the most joy. The beautiful thing about this career is the abundance and variety of ways to practice optometry. You will become a stud at what you do if you love what you do.
DR. TERRY'S OHIO STATE EXPERIENCE
What were your most memorable moments at Ohio State?
Flag planting at the EYE house with the 102 boys.
Giving my friends and family eye exams when we first started clinic third year.
Going on the Jamaica Mission trip with the Future Christian Optometrist club.
What do Ohio State and the College of Optometry mean to you and your family?
Ohio State was my dream school as a kid. I am blessed to be able to say that my dreams came true. I will always be a proud Buckeye!
How do you stay connected with the College of Optometry?
Alumni events and EYE tailgates
DR. TERRY'S FUN FACTS
What are your current hobbies, volunteer work and interests?
Hobbies: Baseball, slow-pitch softball, golfing, playing the piano, mountaineering/hiking, gardening, magic tricks, going to the beach. Volunteer Work: Multiple community projects with my Tri-Village Lion’s Club; outreach projects with the young adult fellowship at my church (Northwest Christian Church); and self-service by giving time, goods and money to the homeless Interests: Mother Nature, microcultures of humanity, how animals see/perceive the world compared to humans, the importance of human feet for proper musculoskeletal health, spiritual formation
What is your nickname? (Or another fun, random fact about you)
‘Dr. Tea’ is my nickname at work
‘Sparrow’ was my nickname growing up
Interesting fact: I have a unilateral cilioretinal artery
What’s the best eye pun you’ve ever heard?
Why was the phone wearing glasses? Because it lost all of its contacts.
If not an optometrist, I would be …
A Zookeeper
