Destination Known

Jer's education has been a long journey for him and our family. Finally we are at the end. Destination: Granger Medical Group in Riverton, Utah. Here's a little recap of where the journey has taken him:

August 1983 starts Kindergarten at Fox Hills Elementary

June 1996 graduates from Kearns High School
August 1996 begins classes at Salt Lake Community College Redwood Campus

August 1997--August 1999 takes a break form school to serve an LDS mission in Padova, Italy
Resumes classes at Salt Lake Community College studying Biology
May 2002 transfers to University of Utah studying chemistry
February 2004 takes the OAT (Optometry Admissions Test)
April 2004 is accepted to Pacific University College of Optometry
August 2004 moves to Forest Grove, Oregon and begins classes at Pacific
May 2005 receives a B.S. degree in Visual Science
August 2006 takes first part of National Board exams
May 2007 begins external rotations at Kaiser Permanente in Portland, Oregon
November 2007 moves to Salt Lake City, Utah to continue rotations at the Salt Lake Veteran's Hospital and the Eye Institute of Utah
December 2007 takes the second part of National Board exams
March 2008 matches with the Salt Lake Veteran's Hospital's residency program
April 2008 takes the third part of National Board exams

May 2008 graduates from Pacific University as a Doctor of Optometry
July 2008 becomes licensed, moves to Sandy, Utah and begins residency
June 2009 signs contract with Granger Medical Group
(November 2009 will become a Fellow with the American Academy of Optometry)

Arriving at this point has been a long and sometimes rough road. Finding a job has had more ups and downs than I expected. Before Jer started Optometry school, his family Optometrist advised that Optometry was a dying practice. We were surprised, but realized that he was referring to the challenges that face Optometry in the Salt Lake Valley. The market is very saturated here and a major insurance group does not cover Optmetrists. Also, retail Optometry in general is affecting private practice. But our plan, when all was said and done, was to settle in the Northwest. We really weren't worried and were open to settling in other areas. However, after Jer began his residency we both began to feel that we were supposed to stay here. In the fall he began actively looking for jobs and making contacts in Salt Lake and elsewhere. I can't even remember how many different doctors he's met with over the last several months, but it's been a long process, especially with the recession. We've been extremely blessed to receive a few offers with different potentials. We very carefully made our decision and are very excited about this opportunity. Granger is a group of many doctors and has three clinics, but no other Optometrists. Jer will be working directly for an Opthamologist, but at his own clinic while opening an optical shop too. We think there's a lot of potential for a rewarding career. I feel it's a miracle that Jeremy was able to find such a great job here and that I am actually happy settling here as well. It's been hard for me to accept that I won't be near my family, but we feel strongly that this is the right decision, that the Lord has a plan for our little family which somehow involves us living here and we are so grateful for this blessing. Also, I'm so proud of Jer and all the goals he has set and achieved. I'm thankful that he works so hard to provide for our family.