NSUCO - The Visionary Spring 2012

THE V ISIONARY • S PRING 2012 — 11 NEWS Faculty Matthew Walsh, O.D., was born in New York City but lived on Long Island before relocating with his parents to Southwest Florida just before his sixth birthday. During his formative years, he was an avid participant in sports such as football, baseball, basketball, and track. In fact, he was recruited to play football by several NCAA Division II and Division III colleges. Dr. Walsh’s proudest accomplishment was also his lifelong goal—earning an appointment to the United States Naval Academy. Unfortunately, due to a family tragedy, he declined the offer. After graduating cum laude from the University of Florida in 2006 with a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology and Cell Science, Dr. Walsh attended NSU’s College of Optometry, earning a Bachelor of Science in Vision Science and his O.D. degree in 2010, with honors. During his final two years at NSUCO, he served as class president. In 2011, Dr. Walsh completed the esteemed Dr. Irwin B. Suchoff Residency Program in Vision Therapy and Rehabilitation at SUNY State College of Optometry, where he was trained to perform vision therapy for a variety of conditions such as strabismus, amblyopia, visual skill deficiencies, visual-related learning problems, acquired brain injury, and vestibular issues. Dr. Walsh became a passionate vision therapy devotee because it allows for greater patient interaction and helps him make a dramatically positive impact on the quality of a patient’s life. Simply put, Dr. Walsh takes great pride in successfully treating a patient with vision therapy. The Chinese New Year was commemorated on January 23 by NSU faculty members and students at a festive lunch coordinated by Bai-Chuan Jiang, Ph.D., FAAO. The Chinese New Year, which is regarded by many as the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays, is known as “Spring Festival” and corresponds with the first solar term in a Chinese calendar year. Chinese New Year Commemoration Spotlight on New Faculty Matthew Walsh, O.D.