Finding Focus Through Vision: A Knight’s Journey To Becoming Dean 

How a major change shaped a College of Sciences alumna’s future into a career of academic leadership and patient care.

Written by: Emily Dougherty | Published: February 24, 2026 

When Dr. Stephanie Schmiedecke Barbieri first arrived at the University of Central Florida, her future seemed mapped out. Encouraged by her father, an engineer for Procter and Gamble, she planned to pursue environmental engineering. Instead, her time at UCF revealed a different calling—one that would lead her into optometry, academic leadership, and her current role as Dean of the School of Optometry at the University of the Incarnate World. 

“My father encouraged me to go here,’ she says. “It felt like my home away from home.” 

Immersed in campus life, Dr. Schmiedecke Barbieri built experiences that would later shape her professional path. She worked as a telecounselor calling newly admitted students, served as a campus tour guide, and became active in Alpha Delta Pi sorority, where she also held leadership and Panhellenic roles. Through these opportunities, she developed communication, leadership, and philanthropic skills that remain at the center of her work today. 

“I still get chills when I come back on campus,” she says. “I really had nothing but great memories there.” 

Her academic direction shifted during her junior year in a selected medical careers course, when a presentation by optometrist Dr. Susan Whaley sparked immediate clarity. 

“I’m sitting in the back of the class listening to her,” Dr. Schmiedecke Barbieri says. “She talked a little bit and I thought, ‘Oh, I can do that.’ And then she talked about the career potential, and I realized, ‘I can definitely do this.’” 

Determined to pursue the profession, she changed her major from engineering to psychology, added a biology minor to complete prerequisite coursework for optometry school, and still graduated within four years.  

The rigor of UCF’s science and math preparation, combined with psychology’s focus on human connection, proved foundational for her future specialty in low vision rehabilitation, where she works with patients experiencing congenital or acquired vision loss. 

“The psychology background helped me relate to those patients and be able to have that empathy and connection with them,” she says. “Everything you do in life prepares you for what you do next, and it absolutely did.” 

Today, as Dean, Dr. Schmiedecke Barbieri oversees an optometry program that blends clinical care, education, research, and administration—responsibilities that require budgeting, fundraising, relationship-building, and student mentorship. She says she sees a direct connection between those leadership demands and the skills she first developed at UCF. 

“All the things that I was doing in my early 20s, and late teens prepared me for what I’m doing now,” she says. 

Her journey as a Knight to an academic leader continues to shape the advice she offers students: believe in yourself, stay focused on long-term goals, seek mentors, challenge yourself academically, and pursue opportunities to volunteer or shadow in health care. She also encourages students to embrace nontraditional academic paths that can lead to becoming more well-rounded clinicians and leaders. 

Returning to UCF still brings a sense of pride and reflection, from memories of student life to witnessing the university’s remarkable growth. 

“I just have so many good memories,” she says. “I’m very proud to be a UCF Knight.” 

From a student searching for direction to a dean shaping the future of optometry education, Dr. Schmiedecke Barbieri’s story reflects the transformative role UCF can play in opening doors, building resilience, and preparing graduates for meaningful leadership.