Howard Stromwasser, OD ‘74

Alumni from all our programs recently provided memories from their time as students here on campus. Below is one excerpt from the collection.

I chose the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) because I had talked with Louis Reardon, OD ‘68, and his family. His brother was a lawyer, his father was a doctor, and he was an optometrist. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do yet, but my father wanted me to talk with Dr. Reardon. It sounded interesting because it was a profession that wasn't like the blood and guts of medicine, and I could have more of a family life without hours of being on call all the time. I enjoyed math and thought the use of numbers would be interesting.

I entered PCO in 1970, being part of the first freshman class in the new academic building. I enjoyed anatomy classes with Dr. Onofrey Rybachok and Dr. Lorraine Lombardi, PhD; Donald Goldstein, OD ’60, with geometric optics; Edward Granett, OD ‘51, with clinics; Philip Hooten, OD ‘50, with optics; Joseph Toland, OD ‘54, MD, Lawrence Gray, OD ‘72, Harry Kaplan, OD ‘49, FAAO, Carmen Perna, OD ‘55, Jerome Hirsch, OD ‘49, and Donald Kratz, OD ‘37, FAAO, with pathology and optometric care; John Crozier, OD ‘48, Gilda Crozier, OD ‘43, FAAO, and George Crozier, OD ‘49, for their leadership. Robert Morrison's, OD ‘48, lectures were always interesting to experience. One time, he arrived at school by helicopter.

I remember eating great spaghetti with friends at Mama Lombardi's off 5th Street not too far from the campus. I also have fond memories of studying at the library at Beaver College, which is now Arcadia University.

In 1972, I took a course in transcendental meditation to help me get through the boards, and it has helped me with many things to this day. I've been in private practice for 49 years and can draw a straight line between my degree and career.