After college, Dr. Marcia Monroe had a vision of returning to her hometown to start her own optometry office.

Life, however, had other plans. She spent several years in the field in Michigan before moving back to Indiana.

In 2013, she ended up back in Jackson County, settling in Brownstown. She continued practicing in a semi-retirement mode by traveling around to offices that needed an optometrist to fill in.

On Nov. 8, 2019, her new permanent location opened, early on she was able to see patients, but then COVID-19 pandemic started. This impacted the business.

Her first exposure to optometry was when she was a young girl and went to Dr. Thomas Conner in Seymour. He said her eyes were so fair complected that she needed to wear sunglasses and a hat while outdoors. With this diagnosis, she was able to start playing outside more, eventually not wearing the hat and sunglasses.

When choosing a career after graduating from Seymour High School in 1973, Dr. Monroe reflected back to her experience with Dr. Conner and thought she would follow that path. She also was inspired by her mother’s vision problems, which included not being able to see very clearly from a young age.

“There were so many things when I was growing up that she couldn’t see,” Dr. Monroe said. “I just always wondered why she couldn’t see. It just didn’t make sense to me until I got into optometry school and she had amblyopia (lazy eye) in both eyes because she didn’t get the glasses at a young enough age.”

“I never could understand how she could do so much but not see so well,” Dr. Monroe said. “My mom was amazing. She was an amazing role model for me in many ways.”

Dr. Monroe’s father encouraged her to attend Purdue University since her sister, Sandra, was having a good experience there. She went there for a while until transferring to Indiana University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in optometry in 1979 and her doctorate two years later.

Dr. Monroe completed rotations in Indianapolis and Cleveland and also worked for a doctor in Ann Arbor, Michigan. After finishing at Purdue, she worked for an optometrist and then an ophthalmologist, both in Michigan. She said she really liked the latter experience because the doctor allowed her to practice to the full extent of her education.

Once she moved back to the Hoosier State, she practiced in South Bend and Elkhart before relocating to West Lafayette.

In 1988, she opened her own practice in Lafayette. That was her first opportunity to have a staff, including other optometrists. She remained there until 2013 when she moved to Brownstown.

“I think it has really helped me see how a whole lot of different people practice,” Dr. Monroe said of working for other optometrists before opening her own practice. “I’ve tried to take all of their things that appealed to me and apply them to my practice to make it more user-friendly, more health-oriented. I think it has just really expanded my horizons.”

Dr. Monroe’s goal is to provide optometry services for those not already seeking services from other providers in the community.

She serves ages 6 months and older and can do eye exams, fittings for eyeglasses and contacts, vision therapy and optical coherence tomography tests.

“I’ve always liked working with children because it’s so fun to get them to see, and when you put their first pair of glasses on, their eyes just do a sparkle. That is just so amazing,”.

The theme for her business is “Focus your eyes to focus your life.” She feels giving the gift of vision is special.

She also speaks some Spanish, so she can provide a thorough eye exam in English and Spanish.

Outside of work, Monroe does farming and is actively involved in Jackson County Farm Bureau.