Summer Opportunity Sets Youth’s Sights on Future Optometry Career
Although his first love is baseball, William Crawford spent the summer between his junior and senior years at King College Preparatory High School keeping his eye – and his future – on the ball in a whole new way. During his eight-week summer internship at the Illinois College of Optometry on Chicago’s south side, William worked in the materials room, double-checked prescriptions in the lab, and took inventory and served patients in the newly remodeled Fait Family Eyewear Center.
"William has been an outstanding employee. He’s demonstrated superior skill and maturity, and we have all found him to be a pleasure to work with,” said Nancy DeMaso, William’s immediate supervisor and director, optical service and material management operations at the Illinois College of Optometry. “I expect a very bright future for this fine young man."
“We’re very much committed to being good community servants,” said Arol Augsburger, O.D., president of the Illinois College of Optometry. Arol is a longstanding member of The Rotary Club of Chicago, which in its centennial year adopted the City of Chicago’s Summer Jobs Program as its signature service project.
Participating in Youth Ready Chicago also gives The College the opportunity to help young people build their resumes.
“You can’t get a good job unless you’ve had a good job,” Dr. Augsburger said. “The hallmark of Youth Ready Chicago is to give students professional experience. These are very active, very bright, very articulate young people. It’s been very rewarding to see them expand their horizons and to give them a first step in envisioning what that future might be.”
Dr. Augsburger personally served as a mentor to William. They attended a Rotary Club luncheon, toured the Union League Club’s art collection, and Arol introduced William to many of Chicago’s most prominent business leaders.
As a result of his summer at the Illinois College of Optometry, William is now considering pursuing a pre-optometry curriculum in college, followed by optometry school.
“I like dealing with patients,” William said. “The lifestyle and flexible hours” that may accompany being a successful optometrist also sound pretty appealing, he added with a big grin.
Based on his performance this summer, when it comes to achieving his future goal there’s no doubt that William will hit it out of the park.