Hallie Traverse was recently awarded a scholarship from the by the Wisconsin Optometric Association and Wisconsin Foundation for Vision Awareness in recognition of her academic performance, ability, character, leadership and interest in the profession of optometry. (Photo courtesy of Hallie Traverse)
Hallie Traverse can pinpoint the exact moment when her interest in optometry was piqued: in seventh-grade science class, dissecting a cow’s eye. While her lab partner was too squeamish to cut open the eye, Traverse found herself intrigued by the experience, which helped her realize a few things about herself.
“I learned a couple things that day,” she said. “The eye is really fascinating, and I don’t really want to be a surgeon. But learning the function of the cow’s eye and all the different parts was just really, really cool.”
Traverse started wearing glasses in fifth grade, and her family optometrist, who was always happy to answer her questions, encouraged her to look into the profession. In a high school human anatomy class, she dissected other animals like bullfrogs and realized just how much she enjoyed learning about the human body.
Things continued to fall into place for Traverse while studying at the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh, which helped solidify that optometry was the right path for her. She excelled in science courses and, over summer breaks, shadowed optometrists in a few different offices. When it came time to apply for optometry schools, she knew she wanted to stay in the Midwest, and the College of Optometry at the University of Missouri–St. Louis proved to be the perfect fit.
Traverse had a bit of experience in the field before starting at UMSL, having worked as a technician in a private practice for a year and a half while studying for the OAT and applying to optometry schools. Still, she realized she had a lot more to learn in the College of Optometry, which she describes as an eye-opening and insightful experience. In particular, she’s been intrigued to learn how much of an impact the health of the eye has on the rest of the body, allowing doctors to detect systemic issues such as diabetes or high blood pressure.
“I just didn’t realize how much of an impact optometrists can have on the overall health of the patient, not just the eyes,” she said. “They say the eyes are the window to the soul, but they’re also the window to the patient’s health. It’s been really amazing learning how we can have such a huge impact on the health of the patient just by looking in the back of the eye.”
In November, Traverse, who is currently mid-way through her third year, was recognized for her accomplishments in optometry school by the Wisconsin Optometric Association and Wisconsin Foundation for Vision Awareness with a scholarship. The award is presented each year to a few optometry students originally from Wisconsin who have demonstrated their academic performance, ability, character, leadership and interest in the profession of optometry.
Looking forward, Traverse is excited to get more hands-on experience with patients during her externship rotations next year. She recently found out she’ll be working in St. Louis as well as a private practice in Colorado and two different locations in her home state of Wisconsin: the Milwaukee VA and a clinic in Wisconsin Rapids. She says her placements will give her exposure to a lot of different areas of the field; the Wisconsin sites, in particular, will likely be a little more fast-paced than a private practice setting. “I like that I will get a little bit of everything on my rotations, including private practice – which is what I hope to end up doing in the long run – and more medical optometry, which will offer more exposure to different conditions and hopefully lead to more comfort in treating those conditions,” she said.
Though she’s interested in contact lenses as a specialty, Traverse is keeping her options open for now, knowing that her externship experience will likely help her narrow down a specialty in her future career. After graduation, she plans to relocate to be with her fiancé, who is currently stationed in North Carolina with the United States Marine Corps, and hopes to eventually return to Wisconsin to practice. Wherever she lands, she’s excited to have the opportunity to play such an important role in helping patients.
“Optometrists can often be underrated – people don’t think about us as working with the whole body and not just the eyes,” she said. “It’s so important to see your optometrist because they can sometimes catch things before even a primary care physician might. It’s been really amazing seeing how optometrists can impact the health of their patients in a positive way.”
