There’s a calming peace that can be felt as the sun slowly rises up the horizon. Few people ever wake up early enough to experience these moments as they stay wrapped up in their comforters, enjoying their last couple of hours of sleep before their alarms remind them that the day is starting. Not the case for siblings Michael and Vanessa Fimreite, who on any given day would be working on their 8th or 9th mile by this time. Every morning, they push themselves to go further, run faster, and be better. It’s not just to train for the various marathons they run each year, but rather due to their positive mentalities that keep them always moving forward.
But running isn’t the only thing they have in common. Michael and Vanessa Fimreite are both new Doctors of Optometry, having graduated from Western University and SUNY, respectively, in May of 2016. They join their parents, Drs. Jeffrey and Patricia Fimreite, both Optometrists as well, in their love of providing eye care to the community.
Having attended Optometry school on opposite sides of the country had not deterred the Fimreite siblings from continually keeping in touch and challenging each other to reach their greatest potential. “I had someone outside of my group of friends with whom I could ask questions about what we were studying, and who could bring a different mindset to the topic,” Michael remarked. “It was cool being able to talk about the different patient scenarios that we each had, and we’d have little competitions about who saw more of a certain type of patient or who had the more intense patient encounter that day.” Vanessa echoed the sentiments, “Not only did I have someone to not so secretly compete with in the classroom, even though we attended different colleges, it was amazing having someone to call when I needed a topic explained a different way…Plus, by having one of your best friends (don’t tell my brother I admitted that) at a different school, allowed to connect with a whole other group of friends. I have been very fortunate to make some great connections and relationships with the students that my brother attended school with.”
With their determination to excel and to make those around them better, it was easy to see why they are seen by their peers as leaders in the profession. Michael was elected to be the Curriculum Representative, acting as the liaison between his class and the school faculty and administration. His work as Vice President of the Optometry Private Practice Business Club earned him the prestigious Preston Cup trophy, recognizing him as one of the top business and practice management leaders in the country. Equally as impressive, Vanessa was elected Class President and subsequently Student Council President for three straight years, involved with administration and organizing school wide events for all four optometry classes while serving on various committees. Along with being involved as Treasurer of the Fellowship of Christian Optometrists, her achievements earned her the SUNY Student Innovator Award, SUNY Chancellors Award, and SUNY Student Involvement Award.
Amongst the various people and organizations which helped them get to where they are today, Michael and Vanessa are advocates of Optometric Insights and its role in complementing the academic curriculum provided by the Colleges of Optometry. “From attending several Optometric Insights lectures and events I learned valuable business and industry information that was never touched upon during school,” Michael recalls. Vanessa agreed,” I gained a lot of valuable insights, pun intended, not only about how to view optometry as a business, but to really understand and embrace the reasons why I became an Optometrist in the first place. As the founders of Optometric Insights always promote, understand your ‘why’; and with their help and guidance, I was able to do just that.”
The benefits of Optometric Insights fall out outside of academics as well. The goal of Optometric Insights is to cultivate leadership and accelerate success, with emphasis on hosting various networking and mentorships events all over the country. Michael notes that “through [Optometric Insights] events I was able to network with and meet numerous industry representatives and students from other schools which allowed me to gain friends and business contacts across the nation, with whom I am still frequently in contact with.” Vanessa adds that “having the opportunity to meet and work with other mentoring doctors and companies, such as Optometric Insights, I was definitely able to make connections and participate in events I would have never imagined I would have had the opportunities to be a part of.”
Though having parents that are Optometrists are a big benefit, neither Michael nor Vanessa are ready to just fully settle into their family’s practices. Both hope to work to spend the first few years building their own clinical skills and develop themselves as Optometrists. With plans on practicing in Orange County in California, Michael is looking at “fine-tuning [his] medical optometry skills.” With clinical experiences working with Ophthalmologists, he’s hoping to expand his knowledge in specialty contact lenses while also co-managing LASIK, cataract, and KAMRA patients.
Vanessa is getting married a few weeks after graduating and is looking toward a different part of California. “I am hoping to find a practice in the San Francisco Bay Area and move up north.” She remarks, though she admits that she may only do it for a few years. “Eventually I would like to move back to Southern California and join both my brother and my parents at their practice, PAJE Optometric.”
Optometrists. Advocates. Leaders. Marathon runners. Look forward to seeing what Dr. Michael Fimreite and Dr. Vanessa Fimreite will bring to the future of the Optometric profession.
-Will To, OD
