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The Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) at Salus University concluded its annual Robert E. Horne Summer Enrichment Program (SEP) on Friday, July 15, 2022 with a celebratory closing event at the Hafter Student Community Center.
SEP provides underrepresented students of color within the Doctor of Optometry program a jump start into the academic year and a chance to adjust to the pace and rigor of graduate school before the fall term. The goal of this program is to improve matriculation attrition and graduation rates of underrepresented applicants of color while fostering a safety net of support and mentorship.
“The program gave me the chance to fine tune my study skills and improve how I take in information”, said Julia Cortinas ‘26OD SEP graduate and member of the incoming Doctor of Optometry class. “I learned a lot about my best practices as a student and how to best support my classmates so no one gets left behind.”
Fellow SEP graduate Malachi Beck ‘26OD attested to the academic takeaways of SEP.
“The most interesting part of the program for me was learning all of the information in one class and seeing how it overlaps with other classes”, said Beck. “Like Julia said, this program was a great test run to try to learn more about myself as a student and how to adjust to this program and graduate school (as a whole).”
Apart from the academic takeaways, SEP also prides itself on the community it fosters. After feedback on the entirety of the virtual program last year Juliana Mosley-Williams, PhD, special assistant to the president for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, knew everything needed to be held in-person to foster the tight-knit community that was a mainstay of the original SEP values.
“I thank the second year mentors of the program for being honest that they did not have as strong of a connection with their classmates when they were virtual”, said Dr. Mosley-Williams. “Originally, this program was going to be hybrid, but because of their feedback we made the change to host the program fully in-person this year.”
As a result of the in-person program, SEP was successful in fostering the tight-knit community that will initiate the connection between the students throughout their time at PCO, in the classroom and in the clinical setting.
“What makes this program so successful is that students learn what family means and how to pull together”, said Dr. Robert E. Horne, who served as former dean of Student Affairs at Salus University and was instrumental in launching the original SEP program back in 1977. “You typically hear ‘ look to your left and right, one of the faces you see won’t be there on graduation’, but I say ‘look to your left, right, and around you, if all of you pull together, you will all be there on graduation.”
The community SEP fosters is not exclusive to each class individually, it integrates each class into one large support system. The closing ceremony brought back a few SEP alums who emphasize the importance this program had on their academic and professional careers, and how they plan to continue to give back.
“You are about to embark on a lifelong journey of caring and helping people using skills and knowledge that you’ll learn from PCO and you’ll be able to use that information wherever you choose”, said Leslie Gauntlett, OD ‘18, optometrist at National Vision. “I’m happy to create an avenue for you to ask questions, to lean on or just have as a point of contact. I’m truly grateful that National Vision has supported continuing this program so that students have the opportunity to learn and grow here. I am excited for the day that I can call all of you doctors.”
PCO is excited to welcome the SEP Scholars of 2022 to PCO/Salus this fall and are anticipatedly waiting to welcome their new class next summer.
