Fred Fequiere Profile

For Fred Fequiere, accepting a position as lab assistant at the Mind-Eye Institute proved an easy decision – “I worked in optics in the past” — and made even easier by what he terms a “welcoming” Mind-Eye team.

“I had never experienced such a friendly staff in any of my previous companies. They have been very patient with me during my learning and training process at Mind-Eye,” says Fred, who just joined the Institute in September 2021.

Fred had worked in an optics laboratory for about eight years, grinding and surfacing lenses and assembling them into frames, until his Buffalo Grove, Illinois firm was sold in 2021 to two competing companies, and his place of employment closed its doors.

“I wanted to remain in an optical role and learned about the Mind-Eye Institute from [job-searching on] the Internet. I was especially interested because Mind-Eye seemed a completely different type of [health care] organization – very much focused on optometry as it impacts the brain,” Fred says.

In his current Mind-Eye position, Fred’s overall responsibility is to make sure patients’ therapeutic eyeglasses are ordered, prepared, and verified precisely as prescribed. “I sit down with each patient, helping in the selection of frame styles; ensure the order goes out in timely fashion; and verify that the eyeglasses are exactly as ordered before they are given to the patient,” Fred states. 

If needed, Fred also places filters – according to the prescribed location and density — on the patient’s eyeglass lenses.

Quite a different role from the one Fred thought he was going to assume after graduating from Lincoln Technical Institute where he earned an associate degree as an electronic service technician. “In fact, my first job was that of a machine operator, placing parts on circuit boards. I did that for about three years before I took a position in the optics laboratory in Buffalo Grove in 2013,” Fred recalls.

Of course, Fred is not only about work and career. “I live near Lake Michigan in the Rogers Park area of Chicago and that gives me plenty opportunity to swim and get in some beach time,” he says. He also enjoys riding sports bikes, spending time at Chicago’s Field Museum where he is a member, and attending local stand-up comedy programs.

But what Fred most likes doing in his spare time is “barbequing with family and friends. I especially appreciate watching someone who is good at barbequing. I am hoping to pick up the skill as a hobby.”

Fred adds, “I strive to be sensational in everything I do,” including service to patients.