Dr. Kirk grew up in Nashville, Tennessee. After a career in the US Army as a wheeled-vehicle mechanic and interpreter, she attended the University of Connecticut where she studied Animal Science. She then attended veterinary school at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, where she discovered her love of ophthalmology during her second year. Dr. Kirk received the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists’ Veterinary Student Award and the Merck Veterinary Student Award. She also received the American College of Veterinary Surgeons’ Excellence in Surgery Award for her research in biomechanics. After veterinary school, she completed a rotating internship at University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine in Philadelphia, followed by a dual Ophthalmology and Oncology internship at Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine. She is currently completing a specialty ophthalmology internship with The Animal Eye Institute. Upon completion, she will then begin her Ophthalmology residency with The Animal Eye Institute. Her interests outside of veterinary medicine include kayaking, hiking, and spending time with her dogs.