Member Profile - Robin Theye, OD
Where do you currently practice?
Robeson Family Vision Center in Winona, MN
Where are you from originally?
Chatfield, Minnesota
What school did you graduate from (undergraduate and optometry)?
University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and Illinois College of Optometry
What are your hobbies?
Outside of work I enjoy traveling, beautifying our home inside and out with home improvement projects, watercolor painting, fishing, trying new distilleries and restaurants, and spending time with family and friends.
Describe your local community involvement.
My husband and I run our local Cub Scout pack, involving 5 to 12-year-olds and their families. We host meetings one to two times per month and run the Pinewood Derby each year. Does anyone want to buy some popcorn?
Tell us about your family and pets.
I have been married to my husband Mike for 13 years, we have a 10-year-old son Wyatt and 4 mo old English springer spaniel puppy Blaze. They keep me busy.
Why do you choose to be a member of the Minnesota Optometric Association?
In optometry school, you were automatically a part of AOSA. It was there I first learned that optometry is a legislated profession. If you are not a member of the MOA or donating, then you are not helping us keep the rights we earned with our degree or expanding our scope. Those that aren’t members are getting the benefits of the work done without paying for it in my opinion.
What do you like best about the profession of optometry?
The reaction you get when someone sees clearly for the first time, especially a young person. Knowing that you have changed their life forever and I was a part of that.
Describe your favorite memory from your optometric career.
I discovered papilledema in a five-year-old girl not long after I had graduated from optometry school. Thankfully it was only pseudotumor cerebri ( that’s what I will call it forever). She and her mother came to visit me afterward and brought me a little flower crystal and thanked me for potentially saving her life. I still tear up thinking about it and have the crystal on my desk.
What fun fact would you like to share about yourselves that your colleagues may not know about you?
I am quite handy in the construction field. I was active with Habitat for Humanity in college and my spring breaks were spent volunteering to build houses down south. I grew up fixing up a Victorian house. I have shingled several roofs, I can hang, tape, and mud sheetrock. My husband has a construction management degree so we rarely hire projects out.
