Peer Advisor Blog Posts

One of the first things I struggled with last year was managing my eating habits...

At SCCO, we have the incredible opportunity to have a Master’s in Vision Science program, where students can take part in a research-focused program that can be completed concurrently with the four-year OD program. The Master’s in Vision Science program extends what is taught in the four-year OD program and aims to prepare students to teach in an optometry school, perform clinical or basic research in vision science, and/or work for industries that have a need for research-trained optometrists.

Whether your commute time is 10 minutes or 100 minutes, commuting to school may seem daunting at first. However with careful planning and the perfect playlist, life as a commuter is actually not bad at all. As a matter of fact, I’ve come to appreciate and look forward to my half hour drives during the past year. Here are just a few tips for all my fellow commuters:

“Beep! Beep! Beep!” the alarm clock yells. It’s 5:45 a.m. I have 30 minutes to get up, finish my bathroom routine and get dressed.

It’s 6:15 a.m. Better take our dog, Marty, out for a quick walk before he has an accident.

It’s 6:20 a.m. Time to wake up my 3-year-old daughter, Tommie. I have 25 minutes to get her ready and get some breakfast on the table.

What will she be willing to eat this morning? Oatmeal? Eggs? Pancakes? Let’s take a chance on oatmeal. While she eats I pack her snacks: chopped fruits, pretzels, yogurt.

Whether you just graduated, or it has been a while, graduate school can be quite different from the undergraduate experience. Here are some differences and tips to help navigate and succeed through professional school.

Let’s face it, grad school is no walk in the park. Before you know it, you’ll have two exams the next day and hours left of studying to do. But then you realize you have class until 4:50 p.m., a meeting to attend afterward and emails you must respond to today. So, when will you find the time to study? These stressful times will inevitably come around, but an effective de-stressing activity or resource can help take off some of the pressure of grad school and can lead to more effective studying.

I hope you’re excited to make your own memories here at MBKU. It will all go by so fast, so remember to breathe, step out of the library once in a while, and have some fun! With all that being said, here are my favorite memories of first year.

I’ll never forget that fateful day when I got accepted into optometry school. All the hard work I put into my application, studying for the OAT, going through interviews, summed up to this moment in my life. I waited by the phone all day waiting for the phone call from admissions saying I was accepted into my dream school, Southern California College of Optometry. When I got it, I tried my best to contain my enthusiasm over the phone, but as soon as we ended the call, I couldn’t help but scream out in joy and run out the front door, all the way down my street.

Welcome to the MBKU family! I know that incoming students are most concerned about how to be successful in their studies. Although, we’re here to improve our knowledge, let’s not forget the importance of our physical well-being. Staying physically active is very important for many reasons, such as:

Welcome Class of 2023! We are so excited for you to be a part of our MBKU family. As an MBKU student, trust that your program will teach you everything you need to know to be amazing at your profession. You are taught how to assess patients, look for red flags, ask the right questions, and most importantly, how to talk with patients and other healthcare providers. If you are like me, then putting what you learn into practice is a must. I find that the best way to practice and retain knowledge is by working in the field.