Many of you 4th year students will be putting on your caps and gowns this week and walking across the stage to receive your Doctor of Optometry degree. I bet most of you have been sitting at your rotations for the last month, not only counting down the weeks, but also days and hours until graduation, and can you believe that you’ve finally made it to the finish line?!

You are all going to be doctors in just a few short days! 

I remember back to this exciting time in my life and I have to say that you deserve this! You have all worked so hard and made so many sacrifices along the way, always reminding yourself throughout the journey that it will eventually pay off, and this week is proof that it has! Congratulations to every single one of you!

Graduation day was particularly exciting for me back at SCCO in 2010. I was lucky enough to be able to stand up on the stage and address my fellow students by giving a speech during the commencement ceremony. Today, as I was thinking about this blog post, I looked back on my computer to see if I could find a copy of the speech that I wrote, and I did.

Re-reading the speech brought back a lot of fond memories of my time as an optometry student, but also reminded me of the craziness that I had endured during those four years. Even though it was rough at times, optometry school provided me with the best friends that I will ever have, and a wonderful career focused on helping others with their ocular health and vision. 

At the end of my graduation speech, I left my classmates with a quote that I would like to share with you. It is from the great UCLA coach, John Wooden. He once said “You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.”

I hope that you all practice optometry every day with this in mind. We are all so fortunate to be able to have the opportunity to help others each day of our careers, and gain pleasure and fulfillment from knowing that we can have a huge impact on someone’s life through our work. 

“You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.” ~ John Wooden, UCLA Coach

Never lose sight of why you chose this profession in the first place, and may your futures be bright with success and happiness!

-Dr. Dexter