Optometrist
Nash Eye Care in Nash, Texas
While attending a recent church service, Dr. Jessica Trichel felt like Fr. Braun’s sermon about providence spoke directly to her and her experience becoming an optometrist. “It often feels like I fell into this field backward,” Dr. Trichel says. “Though getting here wasn’t easy, some things were easy when they should not have been, and paths were made when and where I never saw them. That is providence, and it is why I am here.”
Dr. Trichel did not grow up wanting to pursue a career in the healthcare field. In fact, she spent an extra semester in undergrad and enrolled in pilates, yoga, and whatever A+ class she could find because she wasn’t sure what she wanted to do. “Eventually, I started teaching science at the high school level,” Dr. Trichel says. “My bachelor’s degree is in molecular biology with a minor in chemistry, so teaching science seemed like a great fit. Honestly, I think that it would have been a great fit, and one day, I may try my hand at it. But, my undergraduate job was working part-time with Dr. Lyon and Dr. Brogden at Vitreo Retinal Associates in Shreveport, and it was there that I fell in love with the field that I now spend every day in.”
In the spring of 2008, Dr. Trichel took an entrance exam and applied to two optometry schools. She was assured a spot in the next year’s class from one school and allowed immediate entrance into the other school’s fall class. She accepted a spot at the Inter American University of Puerto Rico School of Optometry (IAUPR) and started school in the fall of 2008. “My absolute favorite part about my job is serving others,” Dr. Trichel says. “Yes, I get paid for what I do, but what I do not get paid for is the best part. It is the smiling faces, the stories I hear, the ‘l love you, too’s,’ the laughter, the tears, and the personal touch that I get to give and receive.”
Recently, Dr. Trichel opened her private practice, Nash Eye Care, in Nash, Texas. “It has been a joy to watch something I have worked so hard at come to life. It’s a pretty picture from the outside, but getting here was WORK. It is still work—although much more enjoyable when it’s your own,” Dr. Trichel says. “It was failure, success, prayer, tears, happiness, fear, more prayer, and a completely awe-inspiring journey. It is a daily reminder that things work out in their own timing, but you must do the work.”
The biggest challenge that Dr. Trichel faces is learning to run and manage a new business. “I am wonderful at checking eyes; however, I am new at owning a business, and there is much to learn! But I am learning!” Dr. Trichel says. “With an amazing support system and staff, I focus on the positive, pray about what I do not know and cannot predict, then put one foot in front of the other every day and learn something new.”
Dr. Trichel says that her biggest personal accomplishment has been saving eyesight for her customers. “There is a lot of fulfillment to be had in helping people see and optimize their vision, but saving their sight is an entirely different level of care. I am most thankful that God has, and continues to, put me in those situations, which are often hard, and has given me the knowledge to know what to do or the next steps to take,” Dr. Trichel says. “Also, getting a compliment from your mentor, who definitely outranks you, is more than enough for me.”
Even through all the changes and challenges, Dr. Trichel stays grounded through the support of her family. She is married to Mike Smith of Texarkana, Texas. Their eighth anniversary is coming in May, and they are celebrating by going to Las Vegas to see Dead & Company at the Sphere. “We are excited to get away. Our two girls are ages 3 (Kate) and 6 (Caroline), and we haven’t been away without them since they were born,” Dr. Trichel says. “But, my children are my inspiration. Those little firecracker girls put a spark in me that I forgot I had. I want them to go out into the world and accomplish anything their hearts desire, and I want them to never give up on their dreams…even if it’s easier to.”
Dr. Trichel says she never thought of herself as a feminist, but she realized lately that maybe she is. A recent incident with her two young girls greatly impacted her. “Our oldest, Caroline, recently asked me if I was the boss where I worked, but at the time, I wasn’t. That question really stuck with me. It sat in the corner of my mind and nagged me,” Dr. Trichel says. “My husband runs his own company and is the boss. Why wasn’t I the boss? Why wasn’t I ‘killing it,’ so to speak? I knew I could, but why wasn’t I?”
Looking to the future, Dr. Trichel says that they have big plans for Nash Eye Care. “Our community has supported me to no end, and I am so thankful for that,” Dr. Trichel says. “I hope to be able to grow and expand our clinic into a larger, brand new building in the next three to five years while still providing the care that people expect and deserve to be given.”
Fun Facts:
- I am passionate about education.
- I am involved in the Texarkana community through Women for the Arts, Women of Hope and Courage, Walk for Williams, and anything that raises funds for our local schools.
- The best tip I know for staying healthy is to drink water, take your vitamins, and enjoy a long walk.
- Most people don’t know that I cannot sit still.
- If I could discover the cure for anything, it would be the cure for cancer.