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The first time Riya Paranthan, OD ‘14, and Rohit Sachdeva, OD ‘14, crossed paths, they were at orientation waiting in line to have their photos taken for their badges as students in their first-year at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO), Salus University. And, he cut the line in front of her to have his photo taken first. That’s not exactly how budding romances start.
“When I was done getting my photo taken, he was waiting for me at the bottom of the steps,” said Dr. Paranthan. “They had made him go ahead of everyone else in line because he was a Canadian student and as such had to go through additional orientation lectures for international students. He was so apologetic. I was immediately impressed by his courteous nature.”
Still, the sparks didn’t fly immediately between the two classmates. During their first few years at PCO, the two saw each other at social events, and hang-out spots and were in the same common group of friends.
“School didn’t allow for having much of a romantic relationship at the time,” said Dr. Paranthan.
As their education progressed, they rarely saw each other — she was doing a rotation in North Carolina and he was completing one in Miami. On those times when she found herself in Philadelphia on a rotation, he had one on the opposite coast in California.
In fact, Dr. Paranthan said, very few people in their class knew about their budding relationship. “In the whole school, no one even knew that we were dating because we really weren’t. They just knew we were best friends,” she said.
Still, that didn’t prevent some faculty members from noticing there seemed to be “that something” between them. One of those who took note was Satya Verma, OD ‘75, FAAO, DPNAP, Diplomate, former director of Externship Programs at PCO, and now retired professor emeritus.
Drs. Verma and Sachdeva were chatting at the American Optometric Association (AOA) conference in San Diego in 2013. “And, Dr. Verma said to Rohit, ‘You guys ought to be together,’” recalled Dr. Paranthan. “Rohit said, ‘Oh no, we’re from different cultures and our parents would never agree to it.’”
Before the two knew it, they were about to graduate and still hadn’t made any future plans together. “Before graduation, we were looking for jobs and I think that’s when it hit us,” said Dr. Paranthan. “We had been doing everything together, even if we weren’t always physically in the same place. This is going to be it. Time is up.”
Even though serious discussions about a future together had commenced, Dr. Sachdeva was able to pull off a surprise proposal — and he did so immediately after the commencement ceremony. He hired a photographer strictly to take pictures of the two throughout the ceremony. Once the diplomas were awarded and the ceremony was done, the two exited the auditorium.
“We were walking out and a group of my friends came over to us,” said Dr. Paranthan. “He had a poster made ‘Will you marry me?’ Our families were both there and he did it that way because he knew that we would have trouble getting everybody together in the same place again. I had no idea. I was so shocked.”
What took four long years to cultivate unfolded pretty quickly after that. Four days after graduation, the couple were married. The accelerated time frame had to do with the immigration complications at the time between Canada and the United States. The couple had a full-blown ceremony six months later in Canada, and many of their PCO classmates were able to attend, including six PCO/Salus alumni who were in the bridal party. After that, the couple traveled to southern India for a traditional Keralite wedding.
It’s been a little more than 10 years now and the couple has settled in Washington State. They have a five-year-old daughter, Reina, who is in kindergarten. Dr. Paranthan now works at Northwest Eye Clinic in Bellingham, Washington and Dr. Sachdeva works at Bellingham Eye Physicians. Dr. Paranthan is also the regional leader for Private Eye Care Associates of America, where she runs peer-to-peer meetings and lectures with other optometrists in her area. In addition, she also serves on the board of directors in the Department of Biology at her alma mater, the University of Kentucky.
In 2024, Dr. Paranthan was appointed by the Washington Gov. Jay Inslee to the Washington State Board of Optometry, where she was unanimously voted as vice chair of the board. In July 2024, Dr. Paranthan also started a one-year term as president of the Alumni Association of Salus at Drexel University.
