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Faculty and Staff News
Even at a young age, Kaitlyn Kolzow Reda, OD ‘19, FAAO, knew she wanted to become a doctor. She just didn’t know what kind of doctor.
While a student at the University of Scranton majoring in Neuroscience and Philosophy (“The brain and the brain thinking about the brain,” she pointed out), Dr. Kolzow Reda did volunteer work and provided one-on-one care at a school for children with multiple and severe disabilities.
There, nine of the 10 children she worked with had some degree of visual impairment. A student she worked one-on-one with had an extremely rare genetic disorder that impacted her eyes. Dr. Kolzow Reda worked closely with the girl’s healthcare team, which included an optometrist and an occupational therapist, to help provide vision services.
“I saw how vision care directly impacted her independence and mobility, and how much it enhanced her quality of life,” said Dr. Kolzow Reda. “I decided that eye care was where I was meant to be, because I can not only directly help patients improve their quality of life, but I can also take my time and build relationships with my patients. I see quite a number of multigenerational families, and I love that.”
And, her alma mater, the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) at Drexel University, Elkins Park campus, loves her for loving that. As recognition of Dr. Kolzow Reda’s enthusiasm and dedication to the profession and for her willingness to mentor PCO students, she recently received the inaugural “Rising Star Preceptor Award” at PCO’s annual preceptors’ fair in April 2026.
“I think preceptorship is important because it not only allows me to help train future optometrists, but it also keeps me up on my skills and knowledge as well,” she said. “I've always enjoyed tutoring and mentoring, and for the longest time I wanted to teach, and I quite enjoy educating through the roll of preceptor.”
According to Jamie Lindsay, MBA, assistant director of PCO’s Externship Program, the preceptors’ fair is an annual event that’s been held since 2011, offered both virtually and in-person. This year, the virtual event was held in March and featured 45 preceptors from up and down the East Coast while the in-person event held on April 12, included 13 preceptors from several states and India.
The in-person event is split between a preceptor-only session in the morning with a program update and round table discussion, and then a meet-and-greet session with students in the afternoon. Students from the PCO Class of 2028 are afforded the opportunity to meet with preceptors as part of the site selection process for their off-campus externship rotations in the third and fourth years of the Doctor of Optometry program.
Lindsay added that graduating students are asked to nominate a deserving off-campus preceptor whom they believe demonstrated the following qualities:
1. Motivated you to be a great optometric clinical student and future optometrist.
2. Loved to teach every day and made this a part of your daily routine.
3. Was up to date on knowledge, analysis and treatment
4. Was accessible for consultation.
5. Taught you how to be a lifelong learner, i.e. how to independently continue to learn once you left the site and optometry school.
6. Was a true professional in all aspects of his/her career - honesty, integrity, maturity, ethically, etc.
7. Truly cared about providing the best healthcare to all his/her patients regardless of the patient's ability to compensate for eye care.
Dr. Kolzow believes PCO helped her become a thorough and efficient provider, and it instilled in her a drive for excellence that led her to pursue fellowship with the American Academy of Optometry (AAO), and to take on the role of preceptor at her alma mater. “I was very surprised to be named as the recipient of this award,” said Dr. Kolzow Reda, who works at Associated Eye Physicians in Belleville, New Jersey, which is associated with Clara Maass Medical Center, also in Belleville. “We have only hosted students for a few years now, and to hear that I was nominated both last year and this year was quite the shock.”
Also at this year’s fair, Joseph Shovlin, OD ‘80, FAAO, was named “Preceptor of the Year.” He will deliver the keynote address to this year’s PCO graduates on May 21, 2026, at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia.
