As he slides a phoropter in front of his patient’s eyes, Lucas Scalcione '25 has them read a chart on the wall across the room—clicking through different lens settings as he brings their vision into focus.
“I've had all these great experiences, and hundreds of hours of direct patient care, talking with people and hearing their stories,” said Lucas, a senior at SUNY Potsdam who is in the process of preparing for medical school.
For the past two summers, he has been working as an ophthalmic technician for Dr. Lawrence Pecora, an ophthalmologist back home in Endicott, N.Y. Motivated by his passion for medicine and goal of one day becoming an eye doctor, Lucas has taken a proactive approach to his education and career.
“It was right before the summer [leading into my junior year], and I was like, ‘I need a job.’ I wanted to make sure I could tie it into my medical school applications, so, I called the office, and said, ‘I’ve done shadowing, I really don’t have any work experience, but if you need me, I want to help! I want to work as an ophthalmic technician,’” Lucas recalled.
They told him to stop by the office when he got back home, and after a brief interview, they offered him a job. He was immediately thrust into action, helping patients with their concerns before meeting with Dr. Pecora. He used all the tools of the trade, ranging from a phoropter and autorefractor to a visual field test instrument—as he assisted people dealing with symptoms like glaucoma and cataracts.
“I tested patients' visual acuity by having them read the eye chart. I put in eye drops if they needed to be dilated to be evaluated for cataracts and I used the A-scan to measure the length of their eye,” he said. “A lot of times, it’s just a routine check. Other times, people come in with terrible headaches, they can’t see, and their vision is blacking out.”
Outside of the office, Scalcione spent countless hours preparing for the MCAT during the summer of 2023, and then when he returned to SUNY Potsdam in the fall, he continued the feverish process of exam prep.
“I would wake up, go to the gym, come back, do my flashcards and then go to class. And then over winter break I really buckled down before taking the MCAT in January 2024, the day after my 21st birthday,” he said. “I’m also very lucky to have an older brother who is currently in medical school, so he’s been through the process, and he helped me out.”
Now a senior at SUNY Potsdam, Lucas is busy wrapping up his degree in biology (pre-med track) and minor in chemistry, as he prepares for medical school. "My educational experience at SUNY Potsdam has been vital to my journey toward medical school. As a future physician, I will now have the skills to digest complicated research and explain it to my patients in accessible ways,” he said.
His decision to attend the College was driven by both his academic interests and the region.
“I was looking at various SUNY schools, and even though I’m interested in medicine as a career, one of the things that brought me up here was the landscape and the environment. I wanted that to be part of my college experience, and so that’s what really got me interested in Potsdam."
Back in high school, when he was applying to colleges during the height of the pandemic, Lucas attended one of SUNY Potsdam’s online admissions spotlight events, where he learned more about the College, and academic programs, directly from the professors.
“That’s when I met Dr. Jan Trybula, who has been my research mentor and advisor since I was a freshman. I knew that this is the school for me after meeting him that day. He was just so amazing. Afterward, I asked him if he would stay on the call, and that’s when we really started chatting. He’s a very special professor. All the professors I’ve had have been really amazing,” he said.
From his first semester on campus, Lucas knew he had made the right decision. He quickly got in the lab and started conducting research with the faculty. “I think one of the most profound experiences that I’ve had, is just the willingness of the professors to do research with me. By the time I was finishing my sophomore year I was able to publish a paper on a study that I had conducted,” he said.
Lucas dissects a cow's eye during his Anatomy and Physiology lab.
Now he is spearheading his own research as a Presidential Scholar, examining how the runoff of road salts has been impacting insects in ponds and rivers throughout the North Country.
“I’ve been working for the past couple of semesters developing a procedure, developing the techniques, and reading a bunch. As I mentioned, this area is really special to me, and one of the reasons I chose this campus, so this is my way of giving back,” he said.
This fall he is collecting samples from the Raquette River in Potsdam and the Grasse River in Canton to test for toxic levels of road salts, before conducting a toxicology study on flies back in the lab.
“I’m going to be putting water samples in little jars, bringing them back and looking at conductivity, which is directly related to salt. I’ll be looking at conductivity and measuring certain ion concentrations like sodium in particular, and magnesium, because those are present in the salts that they use around here,” he said. “If we find that the concentration [of the road salts] reaches the toxic threshold throughout the year, then the findings would suggest that we might need to look at different ways of keeping the roads safe for everybody as well as the insects.”
photo by Sylvia Grant '25
During the Spring 2025 semester, Lucas will present his findings from his project, “Is the Adirondack Community Under A-‘salt,’” during the Presidential Scholars Colloquium as well as the Learning and Research Fair, just before walking across the Commencement stage to receive his diploma.
Outside of the lab and classroom, Lucas has been exploring a broad range of interests. He plays tennis, teaches swimming lessons through the Northern TRIBS program, and has been learning to play the piano, as he's developed relationships and learned new skills and hobbies to bolster his quality of life.
“This semester I’m taking piano lessons for non-majors. My girlfriend is a pianist, and I’ve been showing her what I’m learning and that’s been fun. Potsdam has been amazing, and the community has been really important to me.”
Now, well prepared for medical school through his classes, research, and real-world experience as an ophthalmic technician, Lucas reflects on his time at SUNY Potsdam.
“It’s different for everybody, but I think a liberal arts college is not always for your career, rather it helps you find the things you want to do in your free time. That’s very true for me,” he said. “The medical school journey—though it has started now with a lot of the classes that I’ve taken—is going to be a huge step [once I get to medical school] that will really be hyper-focused on my career. SUNY Potsdam has really developed many aspects of my life that are not career-focused, and that’s a beautiful thing.”
Article and photos by Jason Hunter