KYCO Graduate Looks Back
written by Dr. Nitya Murthy KYCO class of 2020
Hi there! My name is Nitya Murthy and I’m a very recent graduate of the Kentucky College of Optometry. As I look back on my last 4 years in optometry school, I feel immense gratitude. I feel so lucky to be in this profession, for having attended my school, and to be living in the great state of Kentucky.
As members of the inaugural class, we had our ups and downs throughout our schooling. A lot of things had to be figured out for the first time, and that definitely brought some challenges. However, the advantages were that we could really play an active role in sculpting our vision of what we wanted our school to stand for. I loved that I had the opportunity to start the clubs I wanted at our school. I founded the Cornea and Contact Lens Society, the Pikeville Lions Club chapter, our NOSA chapter and the KYCO Journal Club. Within these organizations we set precedents and laid the foundation for the future. Looking back on all this as a 4th year, I couldn’t be more proud of what the younger classes have done with these organizations. It feels really good to see the seeds we planted grow.
I have graduated from optometry school and it sure isn’t what I imagined! Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, all of our spring clinics and activities have been canceled. I never thought graduating in 2020, the Year of the Optometrist, would mean a virtual graduation with all my dearest friends and family scattered across the country. Walking across the graduation stage was supposed to be the day that I became a doctor, but looking back, I think that day has been coming together in bits and pieces for a while now. The first day I saw a Hollenhorst plaque in my patient’s eye and referred her out for a carotid doppler, when my preceptors introduced me to patients as Doctor, when I did a trend analysis and figured out a patient’s visual field defects were progression and they needed to start glaucoma medication…and the first time I had to deliver the news that a patient’s traumatic injury meant they had lost that eye for good- it was then I felt like a doctor. It was the mentors, friends, patients, and our families that got us here and we are deeply honored to be newly inducted members of this great profession. The Class of 2020 may not have a graduation ceremony, but we still feel proud to be the doctors of the future!
