STONY BROOK, N.Y. — For many, being a student-athlete extends far beyond the years spent as a member of a college team.
 
Stony Brook softball alum Lauren Kamachi is no exception.
 
Kamachi, who graduated from Stony Brook in 2015 after a four-year career with the softball program, has taken the lessons she learned as a Seawolf into the next stage of her career.
 
The former outfielder, who was named to the America East First Team as a senior, recently graduated from the Pennsylvania College of Optometry and is now officially a doctor. Her time at Stony Brook played a key role in the development of her career.
 
"Being a member of the softball team really opened my eyes to many kinds of people, as well as discovering who I was as a person," Kamachi said. "I got the opportunity to work and play alongside some of the most influential and amazing people who have gone on past softball to become successful in their own respective fields."
 
Kamachi, who hails from British Columbia, was drawn to Stony Brook due to its diverse student population and the strong reputation surrounding the school's biology program. She also liked the fact that the university requires students to take classes unrelated to their major to become "well-rounded graduates."
 
In addition to the academics, Kamachi found the perfect home on the university's softball team. After spending her summers on the East Coast attending softball camps, Stony Brook became the perfect landing spot.
 
Kamachi hit nine homers and drove in 40 runs in her collegiate career. She finished her career strong in 2015, producing a .272 batting average with five homers and making 29 starts.
 
Although her sophomore season in 2013 was cut short due to injury, Kamachi recalls the team's America East Championship run and trip to the NCAA Tournament that year as her top memory from her time at Stony Brook.
 
"We ended up winning four straight games to claim the title," she said. "I still remember how energized the dugout was in those four games and how hungry we were to win. I think I was cheering so much in the dugout that weekend that I lost my voice for the next few days. We ended up going to the University of Missouri for the NCAA Regionals, which was an incredible experience."
 
Kamachi has been able to draw similarities between college athletics and the healthcare field after spending four years studying optometry.
 
"Keeping yourself accountable to work hard and give each day your best effort translates into anything you want to accomplish in life," Kamachi said. "The same goes for any healthcare profession; patients rely on your knowledge, expertise and skill so you can deliver your best care. Keep yourself accountable to stay on top of upcoming research and new technology, so you can deliver the best care for your patients."
 
Staying on top of new technology has taken on a whole new meaning in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The final two months of Kamachi's schooling were directly impacted by the pandemic: rather than seeing patients in person, Kamachi and her classmates were assigned hypothetical patient cases and had to come up with diagnoses, treatment and management of the conditions.
 
"A little adaptation to adversity only made us more well-rounded," she said.
 
Head coach Megan Bryant recalls Kamachi as a "terrific person, student, player and teammate" during her four years at Stony Brook.
 
"We are so proud of Lauren and what she accomplished at Stony Brook as a student-athlete and in her optometry studies," Bryant said. "Becoming a doctor of optometry was always her goal and she worked so hard to achieve that goal. She never wavered in her intent, and did it all with grace, sincerity and passion. She is the very best of Stony Brook University and Seawolves Softball."
 
Since graduating, Kamachi has moved back to Canada to work at a family-owned private practice. Eventually, she would like to combine her background in sports and optometry to establish a sports vision practice, where she would help athletes enhance their visual potential.
 
Regardless of where her career takes her next, Kamachi will always look back fondly at her time at Stony Brook, and will continue to apply what she learned as a college athlete to her career.
 
"In the healthcare profession, we go through many years of intensive training to make sure that we are our most prepared selves for our patients and their needs," she said. "The same mindset applies to working hard every day in your sport to be ready for a conference game or winning a championship."