Optician Personal Statement

All throughout my life I have loved to serve. In high school, I took on many leadership positions which led me to earning a full ride scholarship at the University of Arkansas Fort Smith with the Chancellor’s Leadership Council. During my time as an undergraduate student, I worked hard to serve people through the Student Government Association as treasurer, Alpha Epsilon Delta as President, and was a frequent volunteer at the Sebastian County Humane Society. Through these leadership positions and volunteering, I learned how to serve while at the same time balancing an outstanding academic record. This past year due to my service , I was presented the STEM Biological Sciences Service Award, an award for a graduating senior who has demonstrated leadership, academic integrity, and dedicated service for their years at UAFS. I have also been to three different countries for culture and study abroad experiences. I have been to Belize to study the ecological interactions between humans and tropical habitats, and to Spain and South Korea to study culture and language. These experiences have shown me that different types of people live differently because of their culture; however, as a human race we all have one goal in life, to be happy and live a fulfilling life. Without vision, one cannot see this, and as an optometrist I want to help people see that they too can

One thing I have a strong passion for in life is sports. My favorite one was volleyball. It taught me a lot about life and myself. My sophomore year I made varsity, but was upset when I sat the bench more than I played. However, I still pushed myself every practice and never gave up hope. This payed off because the next season I was a starter and a team captain. Being a student athlete has been an incremental part of who I have become in the future. I did not realize it at the time, but my participation in sports has affected my life in more ways than I thought. Consequently, sports have had a major influence on the career path I have chosen, and have also been a significant part of bringing my family together.

An eager interest in the workings and anatomy of the eye has stemmed my interest towards a career in optometry. My fondness for science came from reading the book ‘The Man Who Mistook His Wife for His Hat', which recounts the case histories of patients lost in the bizarre, apparently inescapable world of neurological disorders, this drove my passion past the scope of the curriculum, engaging with ideas independently to follow a career in optometry.

Balancing my academic priorities with my love of field hockey has taught me that I know myself well enough to take on difficult tasks. My experiences thus far in life have given me an appreciation and understanding of how to best challenge and organize myself in a way that helps me to succeed in my endeavors. I know that I will be able to translate these abilities into my future academic pursuits and my professional life. Field hockey will continue to help me to grow, de-stress, and maintain

I do not only commit to volunteering work because it allows me to broaden my skills range but because it means I can make a difference to other people, even if by a little. I have been exposed to different people while helping out at the British Heart Foundation. However, the most exciting charity work has been ‘A rose for a life’. A fundraising event organised by me for the Great Ormond Children Hospital by selling roses. Through this project, many of my skills were tested, such as teamwork, leadership skills, time management but most importantly

Participating in sports has taught me to be responsible for my own actions. Whenever I fail I move on and keep on trying. I’ve struggled but in the end I overcame most of the obstacles I faced.( I learn from my my mistakes )Flag football has taught me to become a leader, however, track and field taught me

Before being introduced into the medical field, I had always seen myself as an engineer. Growing up I was fascinated by how everything worked. When something would break down I would be the first with a screw driver in my hand ready to take it apart. Of course being at such a young age, I would often worsen the situation than fix it, but the thrill and excitement from fixing a broken object meant the world to me. I thought becoming an engineer was my lifelong passion.

Along with NHS, being actively involved in varsity sports throughout high school has made me gain a “work hard” attitude. This attitude of constantly working above and beyond will carry over to my future education and career to help me succeed. As a two-year captain of both volleyball and cheerleading, I have learned to be a team leader while also being a team player. High school sports have instilled lifelong lessons in me such as working hard, being responsible, and being a leader, that I know will aid me in by success in academics and a

The time and effort I have put into each and every day to shape who I am displays my dedication. Growing up, I had a vision of who I wanted to become because of the influential people who surrounded me. As my current chapter is coming to an end, I realized I obtained my goal; I have managed to play every sport that interested me. My goal led me to play my three favorite sports, all four years of high school. Along with my athletic abilities, I have managed to maintain a spot in the top ten percent of my class, which made me eligible to participate in National Honor Society.

I have also come to realize that this particular practice focuses more on disease and disease prevention juxtaposed to only offering refractions and other optical solutions. This type of practice is what interests me most in the field of optometry. Having extensive experience in the health field, namely the field of pharmacy, I was unsatisfied with the level of patient interaction and patient care a pharmacist can convey toward his/her patients. I understand the field of pharmacy is more complex than that of a local practice and that I may have been in a particular situation, but I wanted to have more of a connection with those in need. Being able to see patients at the clinic progress through treatment is what drew me even closer to the field after I started observing. I know the field of optometry can give me the opportunity to have a direct effect on patients and their ocular health. Which is why I have never wanted anything more for myself then to have the chance to become an

Throughout high school, I’ve been involved in multiple activities. As I began high school sports, I looked up to the upperclassmen and tried to be like them. As I grow older, I try to be a positive role model for the underclassmen, just as the students before me had done. I believe that being a positive influence on the ones that look up to you is a splendid aspect to have. As my senior year approached, I participated in volleyball for my fourth year. Throughout practice, I was sure to reach

Coaches always talk about how, “Sports do not make character, they reveal it”. By knowing this I know that the way I overcome difficulties on the field, shows how I will deal with the ups and downs in life. Sports also improve team building skills, communication skills, dedication, hard work, consistency, etc. I find if I improve on those I will be a better person on and off the field.

radiology. I hope to discover all that the title Radiology Technologist entitles me to engage in,

Athletics has played an instrumental role promoting success in all branches of life impacting my performance in school, work and other life facets. Involvement in athletics taught me the value of commitment allowing me to play in Division 1 Women’s Soccer while attending the University of Washington. As a former student athlete, I have been winning and losing my entire life developing my own resilience and tremendous work ethic to work with others toward a common goal. My drive spills over into my professional interactions and career aspirations allowing me to connect

I expect a career that is challenging; one that does not readily give two similar workdays; a career that puts me in continual contact with regular people, who experience a wide-range of feelings and symptoms. I want to go to work every day and know for a fact that every action I perform has the ability to impact someone else, and the better I prepare, the more I care, and the more carefully I listen, the more I can help a patient get better, as I better myself as a clinician. And finally, it is important to me that I retain a level of fascination about my field of work. It is hard to believe that studying a special sense, such as vision; one that has such impact on daily life as to be an independent field in primary care; one that merges systemic conditions with highly isolated and differentiated conditions, could ever fail to be amazing in regards to interesting information. Through my recent experience in shadowing a practicing optometrist, I have successfully confirmed that this is, in fact, the career for me. I know that the opportunities for helping others, and for personal enrichment, are flourishing in the field of optometry, and it is my desire to purse