Optometry
General News
Current Student News
Rachel Antwi-Boasiako ‘29OD began writing poetry in seventh grade, to express herself as she learned to navigate many intersectional identities. She didn’t know it at the time, but poetry would play an important role in getting her accepted into the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) at Drexel University.
Throughout high school, Antwi-Boasiako would perform as a spoken word poet – someone who performs a poem that can express different themes with the use of poetic devices and art influences. She writes for herself first, however she loves seeing her poems resonate with others.
As she continued her studies at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, she also joined Douglass Residential College, the university’s women’s college. There, she found herself attending open mics on Wednesday nights to perform at Verbal Mayhems Poetry Collective. Through this organization, she later made it onto the Rutgers Slam Poetry team.
“Because of COVID, I wasn’t able to travel and perform my poems in person, but making it on to the team was huge for me at the time,” said Antwi-Boasiako, who graduated from Rutgers with a degree in biological sciences and a minor in psychology. “I realized that a lot of what I was sharing resonated with people, even though it was my personal experiences and life journeys. It showed me regardless of what you have to say, there are people who want to hear it and who it will resonate with.”
That experience led her to include her own poetry on her graduate school application to PCO at Drexel University.
“It definitely made me stand out and showed that when I was working as an optometric tech during my gap years, I was able to learn about different ocular equipment, diseases and patient care in general,” said Antwi-Boasiako. She also participated in the University’s Optometry Learning Experience (OLE) program and completed the University’s Post-baccalaureate in Health Sciences program before being accepted into PCO.
She believes her experience with spoken word poetry will help her communication skills with both colleagues and patients when she becomes an optometrist.
“When I was in high school, I kept to myself and was into my books. Public speaking was something that I had to learn how to do. Through spoken word poetry, I became more confident in speaking with people,” said Antwi-Boasiako, who is currently participating in the Elkins Park campus. “You need to know how to speak with people and that’s a foundational skill to have.”
Despite the rigors of graduate school, Antwi-Boasiako hopes to continue to write and perform her poetry when she has the chance.
“I don’t want to lose the hobbies and interests that I have,” she said. “I believe that makes me more of a well-rounded individual. It’s a challenging program but it’s important to do the self-care and do the things that keep you happy and keep you going."
