SUMMER 2025
ESSENTIALS: SUMMER 2025
Chicago must have been a world away when Reneta Simeon, OD ’24 was young. Growing up on the island of St. Lucia, life revolved around the small stretch of road behind her house and her grandma’s garden. She climbed mango trees and played red light green light on the beach. “I had so much freedom to be a child,” she says, “The street was our playground and all we needed.”
Her world was full of the sounds of childhood, of cousins and relatives, but an unfillable space remained at the end of each day, that of her mother, who had left for the U.S. when Reneta was four. “At that time in St. Lucia, school wasn’t mandated, and she had to drop out of high school to work. She wanted to create a better life for my sister and me.” Separated by an ocean, the family rarely saw each other. “There wasn’t a whole lot of back and forth. We saw her maybe once during those years.” Reneta grew up on rich flavors: goat stews, freshly caught fish, and crispy plantains. Her mother scraped together quick, lonely meals between shifts, putting what she had towards the hope that her daughters would join her.
Her mother finally saved up enough to bring her and her sister to the US, and Reneta moved to Florida when she was 10. The culture shock was dramatic. “Back home, we walked several miles to school, wore uniforms, had morning assemblies and religion was a big part of our education. Suddenly, none of that existed. I was an immigrant kid with an accent, wearing uncool clothes. I learned early on to sound American.”
Reneta didn’t just walk the path her mother had carved, she sprinted: ROTC in high school, several scholarships in undergraduate, and several more once she arrived at ICO. She was the first in her family to graduate from both undergrad and graduate school.
Her choice to become an optometrist was also influenced by her move to the U.S. “Kids don’t always know what normal is. I never really realized how bad my vision was,” she says. It wasn’t until a teacher saw Reneta squinting at the board that she was sent to an optometrist to have her eyesight checked. Optometry visits became a yearly tradition. “I always had a positive experience visiting my optometrist. I was the only person in my family who needed glasses. So, it was something unique to me. I got to pick out my own frames. It was a wonderful way for me to express myself.”
After graduating last year, Dr. Simeon chose to further her training by completing a residency in ocular disease at ICO. We’re also thrilled to share that she will be joining the faculty as a Clinical Instructor of Optometry beginning July 1, 2025. Here are a few of her essentials.
CHOOSING GROWTH
At ICO, you get a fantastic education, and you leave a very competent doctor, but only so much learning fits into four years. To become truly excellent, I needed more time with patients and attendings. As a resident, I’m learning from people at the top of their field, and the breadth and scope of cases we treat are just unbeatable. I love working with our patients. I’ve grown a lot from the daily challenges of residency both from the cases I see and from the questions students ask.
A POTHOS FOR A NEW LIFE
Nothing enlivens a room like a plant. I love all of my plants, but my pothos has particular importance because it’s a plant that traveled from my old home to my new home and has grown alongside me. When I packed up my life in Florida and got on a plane to Chicago, the last thing my mom gave me was a clipping to propagate from a pothos she had at home. I wrapped it, checked it in and brought it to Chicago. And just like that, he became the very first plant in my now large collection. It was touch and go for a while (he had a rough ride after all), but he's grown like crazy over the last 5 years.
ONE CONSTANT IN A NEW PLACE
I grew up by the ocean. Water has always been important to me. Luckily when we moved to Fort Lauderdale, the ocean was still nearby. Moving to Chicago was a big change, but the lake ’s proximity to campus helped. Throughout my time at ICO, I ran along the lake. It was the perfect place to train for the Chicago half marathon I completed in my third year.
ALGEBRA CLASSES, TOGETHER
Once I got over the initial culture shock in America, I did well in school. At the same time, my mom began studying to become a radiology tech. At 12, we took algebra together. I vividly remember sitting around the kitchen table, tutoring her in math. It’s a shared memory we both cherish. Even today, she says, “You were my best tutor.” That moment is a good representation of what I’ve gone through to make it to where I am today. Most of my extended family still lives in St. Lucia, where access to higher education is limited and costly. As the eldest daughter, I had to navigate the college process on my own, FAFSA included, because my parents didn’t know much about it. I figured it out, and two years later, helped my little sister do the same.
A ROLE MODEL CLOSE TO HOME
You don’t always understand the choices adults make as a kid. For years, I was separated from my mother, and it was hard to understand why she left. Now I see the courage it took to uproot her life and start over with nothing. I am where I am today because of her decisions. I’ve seen her evolve so much, going from a live-in nanny, getting her high school diploma, becoming a CNA and home health worker, then getting an associate's degree as a radiology tech. She’s worked hard to build a better future for both of us.
My mom has always believed I could do whatever I set my mind to. Her faith in me reminds me that you can do extraordinary things when someone believes in you. She has worked so hard to rebuild us into a strong family unit, and that kindness extends to others in our community as well.
In Florida, she’d often offer up our space as a safe haven for new St. Lucian immigrants. She’s always been the kind of person who helps those trying to help themselves. She’s the reason I value community, and she’s shown me what’s possible with grit and kindness.
SUPPOR TO MAKE IT THROUGH
I tend to live in my head, often replaying how I could have done things differently. It’s easy to let the negative outweigh the positive. My friends and family help shift that narrative. They remind me of the many things I do right, not just the one thing I might have done wrong. They help me see my own growth more clearly. Over Christmas, back in St. Lucia, my aunt introduced me to everyone as Dr. Simeon. After the third time, I told her it really wasn’t necessary—she firmly disagreed. Stepping out of the day-to-day grind and seeing my achievements through the eyes of someone else make the achievements feel as significant as they are. It’s easy to miss that when you’re in the thick of it.
That’s also why I’m grateful to get to see many of the people I graduated with last year. Optometry school was intense, and going through it together has bonded us. I’m still good friends with people I met on the very first day. One of them is getting married next year, and I’ll be standing by her side as a bridesmaid. It’ll be the second time I’ve been an “ICO bridesmaid.” We’ve been through something so meaningful together, and I’m glad I get to spend one more year in a place that has given me so much.
