Keeping an eye on his hometown

Dr. Zachary Ney had a pretty good idea where he wanted to end up when he graduated from optometry school.

Right back where it started.

"I wouldn't necessarily say I always knew I would work with Jill, but deep down I probably did," he said. "Ultimately I wanted to come back home and serve the community that I have a lot of respect for."

Ney joined Dr. Jill Kunzman at Sibley Eye Care and Northwest Iowa Vision Therapy late last month. The son of Beth and Kelly Ney and a

2016 graduate of Hartley-Melvin-Sanborn High School, he earned his undergraduate degree from Loras College in Dubuque after double-majoring in Biochemistry and Neuroscience. Ney moved on to the University of Houston College of Optometry and graduated in May of this year.

Kunzman was thrilled to welcome Ney back to Hartley and northwest Iowa.

"I was secretly holding out for him. He's fantastic," she said. "We celebrated when he told me he would be coming back."

Ney shadowed Kunzman in high school during work-study. It proved to be a pivotal decision and sent him down the path to become an optometrist.

"I really just fell in love with it and decided that's what I wanted to do," he said. "I continued shadowing Jill that summer, and that's when I locked in and decided that I wanted to be an optometrist."

Ney had a stellar academic record at Loras and Houston – he was valedictorian of his class at both schools. He said his experiences in Texas were extremely valuable in broadening his horizons and challenging himself.

"Regardless of where I went for optometry school, I was basically going to be a plane ride away. I decided to go somewhere to experience different cultures, learn about and see different diseases, and get out of my comfort zone," he said. "I wouldn't change anything about it. I made awesome friends that are now great colleagues."

While at Houston, Ney fulfilled clinical rotations at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Washington, D.C. and Cherokee Indian Health Services in Oklahoma. He gained important experience at both locations and was able to see a variety of eye-related conditions.

"I saw traumatic brain injuries, various diseases and refractive surgeries," he said. "I really took every possible thing I could do and tried to do it in the short time I was in Houston."

Ney knows his stuff and has a trophy to prove it. During his time in optometry school, he participated in the Optometry Student Bowl in Washington, D.C. and won.

The contest pits optometry students from across the country against each other in a battle of wits answering optometry-related questions from a panel of experts. Student representatives from 24 schools and colleges of optometry participated.

"It's kind of a nerdy thing to win, but it was an awesome experience," Ney said.

Though he mulled other offers, Ney decided to come home after meeting with Kunzman during holiday break last year. He started in Sibley and Hartley on July 30 and has enjoyed it thus far.

"It's been easy to get back into a routine," he said. "It feels like I never really left despite the fact that it's almost been a decade."

The addition of Ney has helped partially alleviate a long wait list at Kunzman's office. Ney is in the Hartley office on Wednesdays and Kunzman is there on Thursdays, and now there's an optometrist in the Sibley office five days a week.

Kunzman also completed a massive renovation of the Hartley office in anticipation of Ney's arrival – the entire interior was demolished and remodeled this spring and summer. An additional exam room was added and the vision therapy area was expanded.

"The only thing we kept was the toilet," Kunzman said with a laugh. "It's been a process, but we're happy with how it came out."

Kunzman started at Sibley Eye Care in 2002 and bought the practice from Dr. Allen Jones in 2011. She opened Northwest Iowa Vision Therapy in Hartley in 2009.

Both Kunzman and Ney were excited about the changes and eager to hit the ground running as a two-doctor practice. Kunzman said the need for a second doctor has been evident for years and she believes Ney is the perfect fit.

"He relates so well to people and he has a gift that can't always be taught," she said. "I hired somebody that I'm 100 percent confident in. We're very fortunate that we have Zach here and love what he brings to the community."

Ney was happy to be home and see things come full circle.

"I don't think you appreciate the area until you leave," he said. "Then you can look back and reflect on all it has to offer for family, for close-knit relationships, for just being surrounded by good people that have your best interests in mind. That's kind of what it's about."