During her time at UT, she was involved in numerous activities and extracurricular activities. She was a volunteer for several organizations and a research assistant in several labs. In May 2011, she graduated with a BS in Health Science with a Nutrition major.
Carissa's interest in nutrition stems from her freshman year of high school, where she began taking an interest in her food consumption to make her a better athlete. This pattern continued all through high school, which lead to her decision in January of 2008 to pursue a degree in Nutrition. This decision turned her hobby of researching advances in nutrition science into a directed field of study.
However, through experiences throughout her career in undergrad as a Nutrition major, she decided that a profession in nutrition was not her greatest desire. In the summer of 2010, she determined her most desired field for a career, optometry.
Thinking back on what determined her desire, she realized that she had taken an interest in optometry since before the age of 5. Her younger sister was born with esotropia and later underwent surgery to correct the misalignment. Carissa accompanied her sister to many eye appointments throughout her childhood and was always intrigued by the equipment. When she began wearing corrective lenses at the age of 10, her interest in optometry continued to grow throughout the rest of her youth. In college, she began taking opportunities to learn more about the field, and eventually determined that that was where her most intense interest lied.
Currently, she is a 3rd year student at Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, TN. She still remains active as a volunteer by participating in Remote Area Medical trips, Student Volunteers in Optometric Services to Humanity (SVOSH) international optometric mission trips, and other community services.
Listed below are links to some of the activities she has participated in.
CEHHS Dean's Undergraduate Advisory Board
ARC First Aid Station Team
Chancellor's Honors Program
Ecology Lab
University of Tennessee RecSports Lifeguard
Remote Area Medical volunteer
Below is a picture tedding hay prior to raking and bailing it.
