Megan Koch was feeling alone in her journey to optometry school, but she had a feeling that others at Minnesota State University, Mankato may be on a similar path. “I think when you have peers on your side,” she says, “your journey becomes a little more manageable.” And so, the Pre-Optometry club was born.

Ms. Koch, who serves as co-president of the group, alongside Nicole M. Kaupa, says that students are excited to have a community to join. “As much fun as it is to have a group to talk about optometry with, I think it’s equally as fun to have a group of people to connect with,” she says.

Ms. Kaupa, who, prior to the Pre-Optometry club’s inception “thought that I was the only one at Minnesota State University who was going to school for pre-optometry,” agrees. “I’m glad that we were able to start this club. It’s a great way for students who are interested in the field to be able to get together and be with others who have the same goals,” she says.

The club had been around for a few semesters, unofficially, before receiving its official designation as a recognized student organization with the university in the last year. It meets every two weeks, covering topics such as how to prepare for optometry school, what classes to take, and preparation for the Optometry Admission Test. A few members are getting ready to take their admission test or have already taken it, “which is very exciting,” Ms. Kaupa says.

The group has also invited guest speakers, notably a current student at Midwestern University College of Optometry. In the future the group hopes to welcome optometrists to meetings to talk about their careers, Ms. Koch says, and invites interested persons to send an email to preoptometry@mnsu.edu.

“We are excited to plan more things like this in the future,” Ms. Koch says.

For her own future, Ms. Koch says she plans to complete a gap year, in which she will take the admission test and work for an eye care practice to gain some experience, before applying to optometry school for the 2024 academic year.

Ms. Kaupa says she plans to attend optometry school imminently and eventually move south to open her own optometry center. OM