NSUCO - The Visionary Spring 2012

THE V ISIONARY • S PRING 2012 — 5 Site Student News eye As a child growing up in an upscale area of southern New Hampshire, OD3 student An- drew Valenti enjoyed many carefree days play- ing sports and hanging out with friends. However, he also possessed a laser-like focus when it came to where his professional des- tiny lay. “Since I was six years old, all I wanted to do was become a doctor,” said Valenti, whose fa- ther, James, is a successful optometrist and as- sociate at Tallman Eye Associates, which has several offices in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire. “I always had an interest in optometry due to my father, but I never really thought I was going to go in that direction. I was thinking more along the lines of orthope- dics or neurology.” When he was 18, Valenti decided to test the optometric waters by working as an opto- metric/ophthalmic technician at the Tallman Eye Associates office in Lawrence, Massachu- setts, while also attending Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, as a premed stu- dent. Unfortunately, due to a severe concus- sion he suffered while playing football during his time at Tufts, Valenti was forced to take a year off from college. “Due to the concussion, which was actually the third one I had experi- enced in a few short years, I developed severe headaches that made it too difficult for me to continue my studies,” said Valenti, who is the middle child of a three-sibling family. When he resumed his studies at Tufts a year later, Valenti’s focus had waned to the point where the idea of dropping out entirely seemed like the prudent course of action, which is exactly what he did. “I just wasn’t into it anymore,” he admitted. “I was told I could no longer play football because of the poten- tial danger involved if I sustained yet another concussion. Once football was gone from my life, it seemed as if my motivation for other things, like academics, diminished as well. I kind of knew I wanted to move on, so I de- cided to relocate to Florida.” A MAN REBORN: Andrew Valenti Surges to The Head of the Class By Scott Colton, B.A., APR Co-Editor, The Visionary Valenti and wife Kimberly on their wedding day.