A series of articles written by SCCO Student Ambassadors.

Why EYE Chose SCCO

by SCCO Student Ambassador, Christina Wang

Why SCCO? A question that I absolutely love being asked. A question that will never get old. And a question that comes with many permutations of answers because I could go on and on about why I chose to attend SCCO.

Let’s start with what I was looking for when deciding where to go for optometry school. Even when deciding between optometry and other pre-health fields. During my time in undergrad at UC Berkeley, I knew that I wanted to go to graduate school. I just didn’t know what or where. I wanted to be in an environment that fostered positive student life and culture on campus with classmates and peers who supported me equally as much as I supported them. My friend from Berkeley (a current 2nd year at SCCO) convinced me to attend the SCCO Admissions Workshop the summer after I graduated to explore options since, at that time, I was on the fence about pursuing optometry. I drove up from San Diego early in the morning and spent the whole day on camps meeting other prospective students, the amazing admissions team, and the student ambassadors who were all incredibly friendly, approachable, and supportive. The Student Ambassadors led lab demonstrations during the day showing skills such as slit lamp, manifest refraction, and visual acuity. And the crazy part was that most of them had just finished their first year and they already seemed to feel so comfortable and confident providing patient care in such a professional manner. I could feel their passion and genuine interest in what they were doing, which was incredibly inspiring and fulfilling. I vividly remember sitting in my car after the day was over before heading back down the 5 and writing in my notes app “I want to go to optometry school and I want to go here.”

And, 2 years later, here we are. I am currently in my first quarter at SCCO and can say, without a doubt, that I made the right choice. After deciding that I wanted to pursue optometry late in my undergraduate career, I attended countless other SCOC webinars, workshops, and even attended the Western Regional Conference that was held at SCCO last year that helped me to gain a sense of just how strong the community is and how supported I felt during each encounter I had. The support amongst the students and faculty and passion for optometry was infectious. I especially felt the welcoming environment on interview day and continue to feel it every day. I am surrounded by classmates and doctors who make every obstacle or hiccup along my pre-optometry journey worth it.

Since I took 2 gap years and had to take a good chunk of my prerequisites during that time after graduating, I felt like I was behind in terms of applying and starting optometry school. I leaned on the amazing admissions team (shoutout Eryn and Tom!) and Student Ambassadors who had similar journeys as me in terms of taking some gap years. Having their support and confidence in me helped me immensely in believing in myself and continuing to work every day toward my goal of wanting to come to SCCO.

I had amazing support as well from SCCO alumni that worked at the VA Kearny Mesa in San Diego where I volunteered for most of my gap years. Whether they were recent SCCO graduates completing their residencies or had been practicing for over a decade, they only had positive things to say about SCCO’s community, education, and clinical skills.

Hearing their fulfilling experiences while at SCCO solidified that I wanted to be a part of the community during school and beyond.

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