Derek Williams

Derek Williams is an optometrist at the Great Lakes Bay Health Center. He was named Michigan’s Young Optometrist of the Year in April, something he finds very humbling. Derek loves his time with his patients and helping other young people interested in optometry. He always knew he wanted to give back to his community, and now he gets to do it through his career.

At SVSU

Derek knew he wanted to attend SVSU  because he knew other pre-optometry students who went to SVSU and were accepted to good optometry schools. While attending SVSU, Derek loved how hands-on his classes were and enjoyed being able to be a student researcher. Derek also enjoyed that SVSU was close to home, but he still got to live in the dorms to have that college experience.

He was very active on campus and joined many clubs, though the one that made the most significant impact on him was the Pre-Health club. He liked that he interacted with other students interested in different types of medicine. He understood that it was a unique opportunity that a small school could give him, as at a larger school, he would have joined a Pre Optometry club and not gotten to meet so many people interested in different parts of the medical field. Now his network of doctors sprawls across various medical fields, and he has many contacts to call upon for questions outside of his expertise.

After SVSU

After graduating from SVSU, Derek attended the Michigan College of Optometry. While there, he did his clinical rotation sites in California and South Carolina. He had a great time at both locations, experiencing different communities, but he knew that he wanted to come back to Michigan to help his community and commit to public service.

Derek now works as the Director of Vision Services at the Great Lakes Bay Health Center. He sees patients regularly and is responsible for implementing the vision of the future of the Vision department. Derek’s favorite part of his job is working directly with his patients. The Great Lakes Bay Health Center is a federally qualified medical center, so the majority of patients cannot otherwise afford medical care, so seeing the same doctor at every visit is extra vital to them, as that is not something that they usually experience.

Derek was named Michigan’s Young Optometrist of the Year in April, which he finds very humbling. He loves providing care to his patients, and this award was the icing on the cake of a career he already loves.

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