WINTER 2023
ESSENTIALS: WINTER 2023
Many optometrists love their profession, and we know that many of our current students committed to optometry because their optometrist saw great potential in them. However, most optometrists cannot say they guided 82 patients into this wonderful field. Joseph Herba, OD ’88 can claim exactly that.
“ICO has done more for me than I could have ever imagined. To be able to be accepted into this field, and to have the lifestyle I have, it's just wonderful," says Dr. Herba. "Optometry offers me so much freedom, and there’s so much joy in taking care of patients. It's been a great run, and I can’t imagine a sounder education.”
For 32 years, he has run his practice in Crystal Lake, and in that time, he has changed so many lives. "It's about sharing with my patients the opportunity I was given. When I see kids who are interested in health care, I try to open as many doors to optometry as possible," he continues. "ICO needs to have good representation in the community, and we should guide patients who are positive about the field. When we do this, it's of great benefit to all of us."
Here are a few of his essentials.
A COMPANION FOR A WALK IN THE WOODS
“For as long as my children can remember, we had Labrador Retrievers in the family. As a hobby, I train them. Retrievers were originally bred to retrieve fish that had jumped out of the net. Even today, they stay true to their name: drop pretty much anything you have, and they'll bring it back to you. I also love them because they're friendly, adventurous dogs who are willing to try pretty much anything. That makes them great companions for me when I am out for day-long hikes in the wilderness. It's a hobby I inherited from my father. He too trained dogs.”
SUPPORTING MY COMMUNITY. SUPPORTING OUR PROFESSION
“I've practiced in Crystal Lake, IL since 1991. I've built some really strong relationships during that time, and I want my patients to understand just how great a career this can be. I've gotten a lot of students interested in optometry, but, in some cases, taking an unpaid internship to gain shadowing experience can deter students from choosing optometry. I've worked in corporate offices for most of my career, and with both Luxottica and Shopko, I've gotten the support I needed to hire students as opticians. We hire them in their junior year of college and work with them before they apply to optometry school. It has been a tremendous bonus to my staff, and most of the students I talk to say that this makes their first year much easier. To give a kid a leg up and help our profession at the same time, I mean, you can't ask for more than that. We're giving back to the community and making sure this profession stays strong. It's a win-win.
A LIFE LIVED OUTDOORS
“Although I cannot speak his language, I inherited many things from my father, in particular, his love for the outdoors. Growing up in the '70s, the West Side of Chicago had a decent wild pheasant population, and my dad and I used to go into the wilderness all day long hunting pheasants. Now the same area is subdivisions, but for me, that semi-wild area was an important part of my childhood years.”
CHICAGO TIES
“I grew up in a small Polish community on the West Side of the city. It was a very tight-knit community; all the neighbors took good care of one another. My father arrived in Chicago after WWII, when a large group of Poles was immigrating to America. At that time, I remember there was a lot of aggression towards those who spoke anything but English. My father forbade speaking Polish at home, and so although I feel very strongly Polish, today, I don't speak the language.”
ALL THINGS WATER. ALL THE TIME.
“When I was growing up, we didn't really travel. I never saw the ocean as a kid, but I fell in love with marine life in middle school. I was so passionate about it that I had planned to finish out my undergrad in Oahu, Hawaii, as a marine biologist. Ultimately, though, I ended up at Loyola, which had a strong marine biology department. I learned to dive there. One of the co-founders of PADI, Ralph Erickson, was my instructor during that time. PADI is now the leading scuba dive training organization in the world. I didn't become a marine biologist, but I continued to dive. These days, I try to see the ocean as often as possible.
Our love of water extends beyond marine life. We now live by a lake. We fish and jet ski. I spend as much time in the water as I can.”
FROM PATIENT TO COLLEAGUE
“I've guided a lot of patients into this profession, but Brett Freitag, OD was one of my favorites. Brett came in for an exam when he was 8. I had taken care of his brother and parents before that, and now it was his turn. He really enjoyed himself during the exam and had all kinds of questions. His mother called me after the exam, saying, ‘You must have really impressed him because now he wants to be an optometrist.’ Of course, given that he was 8, I took his commitment with a grain of salt, but Brett was committed. He held on to that dream, got into optometry school, and then worked with me for a year after he graduated. When he left, he said, ‘One of my childhood dreams was to work with you. Now I can say I have fulfilled that.’ He's now practicing in Phoenix, but I'm glad that our careers were able to overlap for at least a year.”
