Simran Kaur

As 2019 comes to a close, the New Zealand Optometry Student Society wraps up its seventh year. We’re happy to report that we’ve had a successful year, with many triumphs, challenges and, of course, a whole lot of fun!

In March we hit the ground running with our optometry orientation and combined How to BOptom seminar for our new part two students, giving them tips and tricks on how to make the most of their first year, both socially and academically. The beginning of the academic year also included sign-ups, goodie bags for our students and the Round the Bays run.

We celebrated surviving our first week back with our annual welcome BBQ, which saw a 30% increase in attendance. We also continued to re-implement our buddy system, which has remained effective in further bridging the gaps between students of all year levels.

NZOSS hosted a number of social events throughout the year. One of the social highlights was our NZOSS camp at Huia Ranges, with a capacity turnout. Our two pub crawls were huge successes and we were also involved in the University of Auckland’s Grafton Welfare Week for the third time running. For this, we provided financial support and practical help at events to help students “stress less” with activities such as yoga sessions and puppies to pat on campus.

Optom students also got a chance to show their knowledge extended beyond eyes at our annual pub quiz. This sell-out event was widely regarded as one of our most successful of the year and provided the winning team with free tickets to the EyeBall.

Held this year at Auckland’s Pullman Hotel, the annual EyeBall was themed Eyelumination: Festival of Lights was held at the Pullman Hotel. It was a spectacular event filled with great food, music, dancing and, of course, a whole lot of glitz and glam. A special shout out to the ball committee who made it all happen.

This year we implemented our first optometry and pharmacy crossover event, which was a night to remember (or not, for some!). Our grassroots representative also organised our first ever optometry rural health talk, inviting rural optometrists to speak about their experiences and answer questions.

In continuing to bridge the gap between students and the industry, we worked with our sponsors to deliver our annual educational, which was well received. As students, we love hearing pearls of knowledge about the industry that might not always be covered in lectures.

2019 has clearly been a successful year for NZOSS. Every year, our relationship with industry professionals grows stronger. We are always in awe from the support of the wider optometry community and we wouldn’t be here without these interactions. So, on behalf of NZOSS, thank you.

So much work goes on behind the scenes to make all these events possible. Finally, congratulations to the new president of the society Cindy Cheakhun and the new executive team of 2020. We know you’ll be great in leading the society forward.

Simran Kaur, 2019 NZOSS president