Meet our students

After finishing high school, I did some research regarding my career options. I enjoyed biology and physics in high school and I was enthusiastic to study in a medical profession. My last eye exam before starting Optometry was in primary school so I didn’t know much about Optometry initially. Eyes have always been fascinating to me. The idea of learning more about our visual system and providing primary eye care appealed to me. The profession is not stressful and there is a good close knit community within the industry. So after doing a bit of research, I decided Optometry is what I wanted to do.

Optometry does involve hard work but that doesn’t mean that you won’t be partying! Our calendar is well planned out with fun events. Being in a party bus in your funky costumes on a Pub crawl night gets everyone excited! Jumping on the bouncy castle at the annual summer barbecue is a big hit too! And I love the feeling of representing Optometry at Round the Bays among 60,000 participants every year. Of course, singing the chorus and grooving on the dance floor at the Optometry Ball is the highlight of the year! To finish off the year, we camp out at the Kai Iwi Lakes where you get to see the ‘cooking skills’ of your fellow classmates. These are the events that will shape your memories and these memories are what you will be taking away when you graduate.

Our lecturers and supervisors come from all over the world...UK, Canada, USA and Uruguay to name a few and they have a wealth of experience and knowledge. They are always keen to help you out with your questions. I have enjoyed the opportunity to do a summer studentship on colour vision of honey bees which is a great way to explore into the research aspects of optometry and it is paid well too! The department offers a few studentships every summer so it’s a good idea to apply. Most of us work part time in the weekends at an optometry practice as it helps reinforce what we learn in class. I have been working part time at Harrison & Graham Optometrists over the last two years where I have learnt some important practical knowledge in patient care.

Now that we have started our final clinical year I am enjoying the patient interaction and learning important clinical skills. University of Auckland, being the only school of Optometry in New Zealand, has a good reputation and sets the bar high internationally. Optometry is both challenging and exciting at the same time. I am looking forward to finishing off my final year and make my mark in the world.
 

I always wanted a career in the medical profession but wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to do when I left school. I completed a Bachelor of Science in 2006 at The University of Auckland. I was first introduced to the industry as a Laboratory Technician for the Department of Optometry and Vision Science, and then later worked with ophthalmologists in Queensland, Australia. I worked as an Ophthalmic Technician for two years and loved every minute of it. It is such a rewarding profession and I wished to pursue it further. So I enrolled in the Bachelor of Optometry degree at the University of Auckland.

It was a tough decision to come back to university after working full time. I found having experience in the optical profession has really given me an advantage. My science and industry background has really complemented my studies and has made me more determined to succeed. I work part time at an Optometry practice in Auckland on Saturdays which has taught me aspects of dispensing and invaluable hands on experience with patients that you can’t get from a textbook.

Aside from all of the study, we have a great social environment. I have been involved in organising a pub crawl, it is a great opportunity to meet students in other years and have lots of fun. I was also elected as Head of the Optometry Ball Committee 2011. This is the social highlight of the optometry year. I would encourage any student to get involved in these events as you get to meet people who work in the profession and spend time with your lecturers outside of the classroom.

I look forward to completing my studies at the end of this year. It is a lot of hard work, but I am very fortunate to have had the full support of all the staff within the department. They are all very approachable and willing to help. I am lucky to have found a career that I am so passionate about. If you want a career in the medical profession that is always evolving and can change patients’ lives, Optometry may be for you.
 

My first and last eye exam prior to optometry school took place over 20 years ago – just before starting kindergarten. This being the only memory I have of ever seeing an Optometrist, it must have left some kind impression on me, as I now near graduation as an Optometrist myself. So what made me decide I wanted to be an optometrist? I started university just out of high school, enrolling in all the pre-med classes of biology, chemistry…. Bio-chemistry… Yikes! After having worked in a lab for a couple summers doing research, I really wondered what I was doing there. I had no interest in lab work whatsoever, and the thought of being stuck in a lab after graduating with a BASc was not consoling. Naturally, I made a list of my options: General practitioner? – could be crazy hours. Dentist? – you never know what people’s mouths will bring. Optometrist? – hmmm… sounded appealing… and clean!

I went and talked to a few optometrists in my city, and quickly learned that this career choice was indeed all I had hoped for, and more! It was clean, I wouldn’t have to be on call, I could be my own boss, and I would get paid whatever I was worth – meaning that the harder I was willing to work, the more I would take home at the end of the day. I pictured myself as a working mom, and knew that with such flexibility, my husband and I would be able to manage raising our own family instead of relying on other sources to do so. I learned that optometry is a profession that would allow me to work in the medical field and achieve elevated career ambitions while still being able to balance other family and personal goals. It would prove to be a rewarding, respectable, and professional career, in which satisfaction would come daily by offering improved vision and ocular disease prevention to not only those within the community, but to those in developing countries as well.

I have absolutely loved my time in New Zealand! Every time I come back to start a new year, I fall in love with the country and its people all over again. Having never left the comfort of my own back yard in Canada, the decision to come abroad was nerve racking at times, but the experience has been well worth every penny spent (and there have been many pennies!!). I have never looked back. The University of Auckland is definitely one of the best, and I know that at the end of this upcoming year, I will feel ready to enter the real world of optometry, as well as write the Canadian board exams. The instructors, tutors, and “behind the scene” staff have done a great job of helping us along the way, and the new optometry building will be great advantage for upcoming optometry students.

For anyone in or outside of New Zealand thinking about optometry, the University of Auckland is a great place to be! I would suggest doing a few observation hours with an optometrist to see what it is they do during their work day and ask them whatever questions you have about the profession. Not only does this deepen your understanding of what you may be getting into, but it may also open other doors of opportunity in the future. For me, doing some observation time lead me to an optometrist who has since offered me a position as her associate upon graduation. In the meantime, I have also been employed in my field of study during my summer breaks.

Optometry is definitely not an easy program to complete, but I know it will be well worth the challenge. So now, what are YOU waiting for? The time will pass whether you choose to do optometry, or not!