Karis Tam (2025 Hoey Shem Walnut Hill Intern)

“After interning at Walnut Hill Pasadena Optometrics for a month, it’s safe to say that I was able to take a lot back from this experience. From the direct interaction with patients and learning how to pretest them, to finding my rhythm in a workplace environment and getting a taste of what an actual job feels like, everything I did was wholly new, yet intriguing and exciting. My day-to-day responsibilities included sending appointment reminders to patients, sorting inventory, getting glasses or contacts ready for pickup, and pretesting patients. From these, I was able to grow both my technical and professional skills as I learned how to pick things up in a fast-paced environment, strengthened my problem-solving skills, and practiced talking professionally to patients. I am so grateful that PTL provided this opportunity, as I was able to explore an area of interest while growing and developing myself. If given the chance, I would definitely come back and do it again.