Giving Back Through Optometry

My passion for giving back through optometry began on a humanitarian mission trip to South America when I was a reservist in the military. There, I saw more than 150 patients a day who were in serious need of vision care and glasses. Returning to my private practice in the States, I was amazed that the same need existed at home, even in my affluent Northern Virginia county. I couldn’t believe there were so many people—schoolkids included—without glasses who needed them, and I was determined to carry on the work I started in South America.

Giving back has been an integral part of my family’s history, with many of us serving our country in the military. Both my mother and I were born in Korea and emigrated to the U.S. when my father, a civilian employee of the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, was transferred back to the States. It was important to me to give something back to the country that had welcomed us, so I joined the Navy after optometry school. There I spent seven years on active duty, applying my skills to help people see. 

After active duty, I purchased my private practice in Virginia, where I get to provide care to my patients and continue to help those in need. As a private practice owner, I have the flexibility to take time off to continue my mission of giving back, and I have part-time optometrists who fill in for me when I do. About ten years ago, we partnered with VSP Eyes of Hope to start the Northern Virginia Optometric Society Vision Van, which provides free eye exams and glasses to people in our community. Since 2017, we have provided more than 1,200 students with free vision care. Among the patients we see are those with a high degree of astigmatism, many who are students struggling to function in school. There’s nothing like providing glasses to a child and seeing the look on their face when they can see the world, can see colors with clarity—and subsequently have an easier time in school. 

As Eye See It, the profession of optometry has given me so much—I run a successful practice where I get to do what I love every day, and I get to make a difference in my community by providing eye care to people who desperately need it. It’s a gift for them, but more so, it’s a gift for me.