Cody Woman Receives UW Optometry Scholarship

Kristanza Bronnenberg, of Cody, is the recipient of the University of Wyoming’s James A. Boucher, O.D. and Julie M. Uhlmann, Ph.D. Optometry Scholarship.

Bronnenberg will attend the Southern California College of Optometry this fall. She graduated from UW this spring with a B.S. in physiology, and minors in the Honors Program and Spanish.

Bronnenberg says she has been drawn to the medical field for years, but she did not know which profession to pursue -- until she shadowed a pair of optometrists. After observing the impacts of the optometrists’ work, Bronnenberg decided that optometry was the perfect fit for her.

She says that she is grateful to receive the award, which will help her to pursue her passion.

“This scholarship will provide me with the means to fulfill my dream to attend optometry school, and I am so thankful to have been awarded this honor,” Bronnenberg says. “Someday, I hope to be able to assist in promoting this great career, because I believe it is an important one that will allow me to touch the lives of others. I would love to see the field of optometry continue to grow.”

After she receives her Doctor of Optometry degree, Bronnenberg says she plans to practice optometry in Wyoming.

“I have lived in Wyoming all of my life. This state and its people have given so much to me, and I cannot wait to return and begin giving back,” Bronnenberg says.

The James A. Boucher, O.D. and Julie M. Uhlmann, Ph.D. Optometry Scholarship was established for UW students who demonstrate academic success and are accepted into any accredited optometry school or college.

Boucher, an optometrist in Laramie since 1966, and his wife, a retired university professor of cultural anthropology, “hope to pass on their passion for the profession of optometry and for service to the profession and to humanity by providing this scholarship.”

For more information, call the UW Preprofessional Health Advising Center at (307) 766-3499, or visit the website at www.uwyo.edu/preprof.