Ives Family’s Optometry Legacy Continues at PCO

Ives Family’s Optometry Legacy Continues at PCO

By the time she was in seventh grade, Tessa Ives ‘21OD had decided to become a Doctor of Optometrist. While growing up she had watched her father, Paul Ives, OD ‘83, and he had really influenced her career choice.

So, when Tessa Ives earned her Doctor of Optometry degree recently from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) at Salus University’s 122nd commencement ceremony, she continued the Ives family legacy that now spans nearly 80 years in the profession of optometry.

It started with Louis Ives, OD ‘43, who entered what was then called the Pennsylvania State College of Optometry (PSCO) in 1939. The school’s founding father, Albert Fitch, was president, and Louis Ives entered the first year PSCO became a four-year program.

Tessa Ives isn’t the only granddaughter of Dr. Louis Ives who is continuing the family legacy. Her older sister, Alexa “Lexie” Ives, OD ‘19, was the first of the third generation of the family to attend and graduate from PCO/Salus. She joined the family practice and has been working with her father for the past two years.