Heather McKay Named Toland Scholarship Winner

Heather McKay ‘22OD usually spends her time in Suite 1 at The Eye Institute (TEI), the clinical facility of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) at Salus. But on one recent morning, she was assigned to work in the emergency department. She was busy and unaware there were people looking for her.

Instructors Chad Killen, OD ‘19, Resident ‘20 and Laine Higa, OD, Resident ‘15 and Korey Patrizi, OD, ‘21Resident, had some news for McKay and finally tracked her down in Emergency Services at TEI. 

“Dr. Killen had this envelope and he made a joke,” said McKay. “He said, ‘This is your dismissal letter.’ And, I thought to myself, ‘Oh my gosh, I couldn’t have messed up that badly, could I?’” No, she had not messed up at all. Quite the opposite, in fact. 

The three faculty members were there to inform McKay she was one of six nominees for the Joseph C. Toland Memorial Scholarship. The winner would ultimately be announced later that day via a video email.

“At that point, I only knew that I was nominated. After I left clinic, I checked my email and watched the video,” said McKay. “I was wowed. I never even knew that this scholarship existed. That morning I found out I was nominated and then all of a sudden I was winning. It was almost too much for one day.”

Dr. Toland was a beloved teacher, clinical provider and a 1954 graduate of PCO. He selflessly supported the mission of PCO through advocacy and leadership and his advocacy was central to the therapeutic profession that is optometry today. His gentle and humble teaching style made him an effective teacher throughout his 45-year tenure at PCO, and his personal characteristics of kindness, compassion and loyalty represent qualities for all to admire and emulate. 

The Toland Scholarship is awarded to a second-year optometry student(s) who has demonstrated exceptional clinical promise during their early patient care assignments, while also demonstrating kindness and compassion in the delivery of care, those personal qualities that epitomized the compassionate care and kindness representative of Dr. Toland. 

Faculty from each of the three primary care suites at TEI nominated two second-year optometry students for the scholarship. The names of all the nominees were forwarded to the Melissa Trego, OD ‘04, PhD, dean of PCO. She then worked diligently with the Registrar’s office to identify the grade point average of each nominee. The nominee with the highest grade point average following the fall semester of the second program year received the $2,000 scholarship. Dr. Trego and Maria Parisi, OD ‘85, Resident ‘86, FAAO, associate dean of Optometric Clinical Affairs at PCO/Salus, announced McKay as the winner on the email video. 

McKay, who grew up in Columbia, Maryland, and earned her undergraduate degree in Health Sciences from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, was honored to be considered for the award and to now be a Toland Scholarship winner.

“The scholarship is a cool way to remember Dr. Toland. It’s a legacy that will live on forever,” said McKay. “Not only was he a great clinician, but he was a good person and he really cared about others.” She went on to describe some of the qualities necessary to be a recipient. “That was also touching that my professors saw that in me, too,” she said. “That’s how you want people to describe you, and it’s nice to hear that.”

Although McKay has not completely decided what type of optometric setting she wants to pursue after graduating from PCO/Salus, she believes during her fourth-year clinical rotations she would like to experience pediatrics, which will allow her to become more comfortable working with children. 

“I definitely like the medical side of optometry,” she said. “Optometry as a profession has become more medically oriented than in the past and I hope to practice to my full potential in the future.”

She also noted how her educational training has been a wonderful experience. “We have great professors that we work with, especially in clinic, who are so passionate,” she said. “I really have come to love optometry more than I ever thought.”