Morgan Rudeau has lived in Mount Airy and been a patient at Mount Airy Eye Care since she was six years old.
Growing up, she had worn glasses since she was two years old and played several sports including basketball, lacrosse and cheerleading. “At (age) nine, I was playing so many sports that I wanted contact lenses,” she said. “At the time, the standard of care was not giving someone that young contact lenses. But (Dr. Christopher Coleman who now owns the practice) gained trust with me and my family and knew that for a nine-year-old, I was as responsible as one can get. My parents would oversee me putting them in and out. I was the youngest patient he has ever put contact lenses in because I needed them to play sports.”
At the time, Coleman notes, many children were not allowed to get contacts until age 13. “Since then, I have had no trouble (with young patients and contacts). I always tell the parents ‘I think you are a better judgement of whether your kids are ready for (contacts).’”
Several years later, Rudeau was in the practice for an annual exam and Coleman asked her if she had gotten a job yet. She told him she had just gotten her driver’s license and was applying to local fast food places and a local amusement park. He offered her an office job doing a variety of tasks including scanning papers and making appointments.
Initially, the Linganore High School graduate thought she wanted to be physical therapist just because she liked science and played sports. While working at the office, Coleman would have her learn about unique cases that came through the practice as well as understanding the daily life of an optometrist. Schooling to become an optometrist would only take one more year than a physical therapist so she decided to focus her career on eye care.
While earning a Bachelor of Science degree from Pennsylvania State University and her Doctor of Optometry from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, Rudeau would come back to Mount Airy Eye Care to work as a technician during summer and holiday breaks. She has even trained some of the current technicians there now. Graduating in May, Rudeau will start at the practice as a new doctor on Monday, Aug. 1.
Over the years, Rudeau has been a part of every aspect of the business. “It is nice to see both sides,” she said. “I understand how the patients’ feel.”
Coleman notes over the years, the two had joked that Rudeau would come back and join the practice after she graduated. “I always had it in mind,” he said. But it was nice when they had a real discussion and she agreed to join the team as a doctor.
“I really came full circle,” she said. “…I’ve been embedded in the community since elementary school through high school. My family is local, and I just love the practice and what they do for the patients, the care that they give and that they make every patient leave feeling like they are important, and they did have good care. That is something that is near and dear to me.”