Women In Optometry (WO) congratulates all of the new optometrists who officially joined the profession at their recent commencement ceremonies.
In this annual WO feature, we recognize those who graduated at the top of their classes at the optometry schools and colleges in North America. Congratulations on this achievement!
Arizona College of Optometry, Midwestern University: Joel Naberhaus, OD, of Ames, Iowa, will begin a residency in ocular disease, glaucoma and low vision at the Kansas City VA.
Chicago College of Optometry, Midwestern University: Natalie Roth, OD, of Hickory Hills, Illinois, will begin practicing at her father’s private practice in the Chicagoland area.
Illinois College of Optometry: Soo Jung Lee, OD, of Duluth, Georgia, will complete a residency in ocular disease, cornea and contact lens and refractive surgery at Georgia Eye Partners in Atlanta.
Indiana University School of Optometry: Emily Ertel, OD, of North Vernon, Indiana, will be joining a private practice called Expert Eyecare in North Vernon.
Inter American University of Puerto Rico School of Optometry: Alexa Pereira, OD, of Silver Spring, Maryland, looks forward to working in private practice and joining the team at Visionary Eye Doctors in Rockville, Maryland, and Washington, DC.
Kentucky College of Optometry: Brittany Varney, OD, of Hazard, Kentucky, will be continuing her education by completing an optometric residency in primary care with emphasis in ocular disease at the Kentucky College of Optometry.
Michigan College of Optometry, Ferris State University: Brendon Yaroch, OD, of Hartland, Michigan, will be joining a private practice in northwestern Wisconsin.
New England College of Optometry: Sharon Qiu, OD, MS, who grew up in Hangzhou, China, before moving to Ottawa, Ontario, will start a residency in cornea and contact lens at the University of Waterloo this August.
Northeastern State University Oklahoma College of Optometry: Claire Elise Burbee, OD, of Fort Smith, Arkansas, will be joining Advanced Family Eye Care in Coweta, Oklahoma.
Nova Southeastern University College of Optometry: Joshua Black, OD, of Richmond, Virginia, will pursue a residency in ocular disease at the University of Miami’s Bascom Palmer Eye Institute.
Ohio State University College of Optometry: Natalie Wong, OD, MS, of Eugene, Oregon, will begin an ocular disease/primary care residency at the Chillicothe/Columbus VA Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio.
Pacific University College of Optometry: Kathleen Thomas, OD, of Sherwood Park, Alberta, will be working at a two-doctor private practice in the rural community of Peace River, located in northern Alberta.
Rosenberg School of Optometry, University of the Incarnate Word: Thelzy Ruth Zamarrón, OD, of Laredo, Texas, accepted a position at an ophthalmology practice and will be returning to her hometown to serve her community.
Salus University Pennsylvania College of Optometry, Scholars Program: Anna Teresa Hess, OD, of Dallastown, Pennsylvania, will be working at an OD/MD practice in her hometown.
Southern California College of Optometry at Marshall B. Ketchum University: Warren J. Xie, OD, of Arcadia, California, will complete a residency at VA Los Angeles Ambulatory Care Center.
Southern College of Optometry: Ann Elizabeth McLean, OD, of Overland Park, Kansas, will complete a primary care residency with an emphasis in ocular disease at Kaiser Permanente in Tacoma, Washington.
State University of New York College of Optometry: Stephanie Schwartz, OD, of Woodbury, New York, will join a primary care practice in Westchester County where she will be incorporating her passion for vision therapy.
University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry: Emma Beisel, OD, of Savannah, Georgia, will return to her hometown to work in tandem with her parents at their private practice. She’s also taking necessary steps towards becoming a lecturer for continuing education.
University of California, Berkeley, School of Optometry: Andrea Cristina Huerta, OD, of San Jose, California, will complete an ocular disease residency at the San Francisco VA Medical Center.
University of Houston College of Optometry: Afiya Ali, OD, of Houston, Texas, will join a private practice in Houston as an associate optometrist.
University of Missouri, St. Louis, College of Optometry: Elizabeth Allee Henry Voss, OD, of St. Charles, Missouri, will join the team at Regional Eyecare, a private practice mostly based in St. Charles County.
University of Montreal School of Optometry: Ariane Nieuwenhof, OD, of Saint-Agnes de Dundee, Quebec, Canada, will work as an optometrist in a private clinic in Sherbrooke, Quebec. She aspires to have a diversified practice, whether with specialized contact lens, dry eye disease and general clinic or by giving back to the community by offering school screening, vision care to Indigenous communities and home care for the elderly.
University of Waterloo School of Optometry: Cedrick Mah, OD, of Edmonton, Alberta, will pursue a residency at NSUOCO in Ocular disease and low vision rehabilitation, starting this summer.
Western University of Health Sciences’ College of Optometry: Matthew Cheung, OD, of Walnut, California, will be looking for practice opportunities in the SoCal area with interest in primary care, ocular disease, vision therapy and specialty contact lenses.
As of our publication date, the top graduate information was not available from MCPHS University School of Optometry.
Featured graduation photo credit: Getty Images
