Optometry’s Meeting Recap!

Happy summer– So far, it’s been an exciting, travel-filled, relaxing summer break for me! I wanted to write this post to fill you guys in on my first trip to Optometry’s Meeting in Seattle at the end of June. I think I mentioned in my last post that Optometry’s Meeting is the American Optometric Association’s (AOA) annual national conference that consists of continuing education for doctors, special workshops for students and many entertaining eve

Me at the conference!

nts. I’m so happy I decided to go to the conference this summer. Not only did I visit the West Coast for the first time (no humidity, it’s wonderful) but I also caught a glimpse of what opportunities my profession will consist of once I step outside the doors of the college. Attending the conference allowed me to realize that optometry is a connected profession and I’ll be surrounded by future colleagues who are driven and dedicated to maintaining excellence in the optometric field.

One of my favorite events at the conference was probably the Varilux sponsored Student Bowl, a Jeopardy style game show featuring contestants from each optometry school! Bridget, the contestant from our school, was awesome—she was one of five students to make it to the finals! I had a blast cheering her on with the rest of our students and many of our professors too. Also, while in Seattle we were able to do a lot of sightseeing and exploring. One of my favorite parts of the trip was when a group of my classmates and I drove to Mt. Rainier National Park to hike for the day. The scenery was breathtaking and so was the hike! I won’t write about everything we did but I’ll post a lot of pictures for you to check out. I’ll catch up again once school starts and I am officially a second year student!

Tanner, Paula, Dee and I on top of the Space Needle

Cheering Bridget on at the Student Bowl

O-H-I-O with Mt. Rainier in the background!