Optometry Contributions

At UC Santa Barbara, I joined and served as the treasurer of my school’s pre-optometry club, Envision, and was able to network with peers who encouraged me to work hard toward my goals. I organized meetings for optometry school representatives to visit our club, and also led meetings myself, one of which regarded helping members prepare for the Optometry Admissions

At church, in addition to my participation in the worship services, I volunteered at our church’s soup kitchen, medical camps and elementary school for underprivileged children. These experiences opened my eyes to the deprivation of love and care in the world and a dire need of God’s grace for people at large so they could receive forgiveness, healing and restoration in their lives.

Our tutoring program is a big success as it pairs NHS members with students who are struggling in certain subject areas. As scholarship is another pillar of NHS, our members take their schoolwork very seriously and they are some of the brightest students in their classes. This tutoring program allows them to give back to our Holmdel High School community by imparting some of their knowledge to struggling students. Their service and time does not go unnoticed as they often have to give up their free time during study hall, lunch, or even after school. One of my fondest memories while being a tutor was when I had to help a younger student study for an Algebra test. I was a bit nervous before our session that I wouldn’t be able to help her understand the subject matter, but we went through her review packet question by question and to my relief I was able to explain the material to her with ease and give her advice on how to solve them, as well as testing tips and strategies that she could use. After our session was over I was glad I was able to help her, but really didn’t think anything of it. I had kind of forgot about our tutoring session when two weeks later, the girl I tutored came up to me with a huge smile on her face telling me she got a 100 on her test and told me she couldn’t have done it without

The following week, we spent most of our time in the poorest parts of the city. There we went door-to-door sharing the love of God and had Vacation Bible Schools for the kids. This is when I realized how blessed I truly was. For the first time, I got to see the privations and penury environment that the citizens of Third World countries had to endure. The unpaved streets were covered in trash. Many houses, made of tin sheets, had collapsed on themselves. The people had to share wells, where they drew their parasitic water. Men, women, and children sat on the sides of the roads begging for money, because they were sick, hungry, and needed money for food and proper medication. The site of these atrocious states of living broke my heart, and showed me how blessed I really was for not having to face these problems.

Being a part of my school’s peer tutoring program has been the most gratifying experience of my high school career. As a student, I can relate to those that struggle in a subject and are unable to connect with the material being taught in class. I have worked with students who have lost confidence in themselves because of the difficulty they were having in school. To be given the opportunity to assist students to reach their academic goals is fulfilling. As a peer tutor, I edit essays, share scholarship searches, assist with homework, and provide studying tips and test taking strategies. I enjoy working with my group to develop habits to be more successful.With each higher grade earned, test anxiety relieved, and confident smile of those that I help, I know that the work I am doing is

When I was eight years of age, I started to realize that there was an entire word outside of the town, state, and country that I lived in. I became concerned about the lives of others, even those that I didn’t know personally. I often thought “There are people in other countries that don’t even have enough water to live, and I am living an amazing life here in America”. Not only was I concerned for those people, but I took action to help them. It was then that I started a fundraiser to raise money for people that can’t afford the basic necessities to live in third world countries. To this day, I have been saving every penny I could afford to make sure other people can live a better life.

It helped me to take a step back and get to know each individual student and have a relationship with each of my students. It also helped me to understand that I need to arrange my lessons around my students needs and what makes sense to them and what they can relate to on a personal level. Each student is different and each student learns and understands materials in a differnent way and each student needs to be

I feel like I was able to help my student in the areas he needed the support. I was beyond proud of the progress he made starting from a level 19 and ending at a level 28. Even then knowing he had the potential to go higher was a great feeling. Improving on his comprehension and spelling was a goal we had set and knowing I was able to help him and see the progress during each session was very rewarding.

On one sunny day, I was helping my mom doing chores when she pulled me over to talk to me about something important. I was confused why my mom would want to me about something important, but I listened to what she said and followed her. What she told me was what her life was like back in Vietnam. She did not have much of an education. Instead, she stayed home with her mom to sell Vietnamese yogurt every day for a living. Since I was born in America, I never thought of life was like for others in developing countries like Vietnam. Hearing from my mom's experience, it stuck with me. I learned the importance of being grateful for what I have since they are a lot of people who do not have what we have in America and it made me want to help those who are in need. I was also inspired to do whatever I

What draws me most to the OD program at MCPHS is the fact that the university prides itself in maintaining a culturally diverse student body. I believe cultural diversity is an important quality to have especially when it comes to handling patients. I grew up in a culturally diverse city, went to an extremely culturally diverse university (Wayne State University) and believe my own cultural interests would make a fine addition to MCPHS.

Living in Idaho I have had the pleasure of being seen or shadowing optometrists who have attended the College of Optometry. Dr. Hopstad, a graduate and an Adjunct Clinical Professor at Pacific University College of Optometry spoke very highly of the program offered and how well they prepare their graduates to be successful in their own practices. While shadowing Dr. Hopstad it was impressive to watch his leadership, how he dealt with the diverse patients, and the expertise he held on all the ______ he attended to. Dr. _, whom I also shadowed, held the same professional expertise and abilities. As alumni they spoke highly about the program and the university sparking my interest to apply for acceptance. It was evident from my experiences and

It gave me the chance to vanquish my fears while also realizing that it is God’s plan for me to help out my community. However, I am not surprised that there are still unanswered questions in my head such as: Why is there such a big hunger problem? Why is this problem not spoken about more often? Is there any other way I can help stop this problem? This service has made me more knowledgeable and aware of my community. In addition, this service project has made me take matters into my own hands. Currently, every time my family goes grocery shopping I make sure they get at least five canned goods for donating. As more of my friends volunteer and more donations come in I think we can end this fight for hunger in southern Louisiana. In addition, I believe that we should all take a step back and be thankful for all that we have because some people don’t have such luxuries. God is omnipresent, He would not want to see His children starving. Finally, I see it as a mission that we volunteers get more people involved to volunteer for the greater

I also helped with building emergency non-perishable food boxes for individuals and families, and worked with a team of volunteers to fill backpacks with a set menu of nutritious foods that kids can help themselves to all weekend long.I learned that you don’t have to be a student looking for practicum hours. Or have a court order to touch other peoples life .you can donate your time and touch so many life, anybody can volunteer to help at the Kansas food bank .I met a lot of people who brought their family just to help ,also I leaned that do not take life for

The strong math and science courses such as physics, human anatomy, and physiology touched lightly on information used by optometrists. Other classes, like psychology, communication, and civic and ethical foundations taken have additionally provided me with the opportunities that developed my social and communication skills when working with people in the optometry field. As well as course work, I have also been involved in altruistic endeavors. Volunteering at the food bank allowed me to give back to the community to those experiencing hardships in their lives. Being on litter patrol, picking up after others at Table Rock, a historical hill, helped raise awareness for the environment, helping coach a basketball team and junior golfers allowed me to share skill building as well as mentor the youth. All these activities have built relationships within the community as well as strengthen my desire to serve within the

My goals from a career in optometry begin with my optometry education. My plan for attacking optometry has three phases: Phase One- General optometric education at Nova Southeastern. I want an outstanding education, supplemented by practical experience, such as that offered by The Eye Care Institute. Phase Two (a.k.a. “the chicken”)- Exposure; after a general education, I seek exposure within the field through such activities as a mission trip, service opportunities, and initial employment in a diverse setting, such as public or rural health. Within these settings, one can experience vast new cultures and the subsequent pathologies that accompany people in diverse settings, living under diverse conditions. Phase Three (“the egg”)- Specialization: