>> When I was in eighth grade, [laughter] it's the weirdest thing, I went to the optometrist
with my grandma, and he diagnosed her with diabetes.
And that was just interesting to me.
I didn't know the whole mechanism behind it, at that time, but it kind of stuck with me.
And I always knew I wanted to be in the healthcare field, I always knew I wanted
to do something to help someone else.
So I explored every healthcare possibility out there, and I ended up back at optometry.
And all of my family wears glasses, all of my family has some type of eye problem,
one or the other, and it just really stuck with me.
So I started out at Northeast, when I left Ripley High School, I went to Northeast,
and I got my associate's in Liberal Arts, and I transferred to Ol' Miss and I got my bachelor's
in biochemistry, with a minor in biology.
And then from here, I went on to the University of Houston, College of Optometry,
and I got my doctor of optometry in 2009.
And from there, my last year, I did some internships with Heitmeier
and Armani Ophthalmological and Surgical Center in New Orleans, and I did, also did a rotation
at Cherokee Nation Hospital and NSU, Northeastern State University at Oklahoma.
And those two experiences really, really opened my eyes to ocular disease and pathology
and I just fell in love with it from there.
But, after graduating, I started my own practice in Tupelo, and now I just work for myself.