When in the course of interviewing prospective optometry students, Dr. Corina van de Pol occasionally encounters one who mentions their interest in optometry blooming at a very early age, and her ears perk up at discovering a potential kindred spirit. “I always say, ‘Me too!’” says Dr. van de Pol with a smile. “It's so cool to see that there are others who made the decision to be an optometrist early.” In eighth grade, Dr. van de Pol worked on a science project about how the eye is a "window to the brain." Her youthful research led to a passion that has taken her around the world in a wide and fascinating career, beginning with serving in a medical battalion in the military, to research for a medical device startup company, and then finally to the sunny campus of Marshall B. Ketchum University.
Helping Students Serve
Dr. van de Pol earned her degree through the GI Bill, entering the military as an optician and instructor in the optical laboratory technician training program. Later, after successfully completing officer’s training, Dr. van de Pol served a few more years before deciding to take a break in order to go to optometry school. Three years into her four-year degree, the Army wanted her back. They paid for her last year of optometry school and she returned to active duty as a captain working in clinical practice for five years. There she practiced the fundamentals of providing good eye care with stakes that were fairly high. She was responsible for giving exams and corrections to soldiers deployed in Operation Desert Storm. Eventually, the military provided Dr. van de Pol the chance to receive her PhD, and she was able to extend her passion for eye care and devotion to the Army into a new direction: research. This led to eight years of exploring alternatives to eyeglasses for Army aviators, where her research, in conjunction with the efforts of many others, resulted in a huge policy change that allowed pilots who had received PRK or LASIK surgery to fly. This research had such a profound effect on aviators that Dr. van de Pol was given the Order of St. Michael medal, which is given by aviators to someone who has made a difference in aviation. She considers it her greatest honor in the military.
A Military Optometrist
After the military Dr. van de Pol spent eight years at a startup company, doing research in support of new medical device technology, a job that began as a lot of fun, then became more and more stressful. That's when she decided to return to teaching, one of her first loves. She was hired at MBKU six years ago, and in that time, she has distinguished herself as an educator who employs her vast experience to train students well and push them to see all the ways they can serve the world in their optometry careers. “It's been really great for me to serve as faculty adviser at Ketchum for the Student Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity (SVOSH) and Lions Clubs. To be there for students so they have more opportunities to go to other countries and do missions is so important. They're doing very basic optometry with very basic tools, but they're also learning and seeing and helping patients. It's a skill every optometrist should have, to diagnose disease with basic tools. And it's a fantastic learning experience for them.”
A Strong Foundation
Put it all together, and Dr. van de Pol has lived a life of service to her country, to her students, and to her community. At Ketchum, she has found a place where this mindset is embraced and encouraged, along with a strong desire to grow and innovate and stay on the leading edge of health care. “We're all like-minded in wanting to give students the best foundation we can. They are our future optometrists. I always tell my students, ‘Someday, I'll come to you and you're going to give me an eye exam. And I want to be proud of you.’”