I had two very significant experiences with optometry during my undergraduate career. The first came during my freshman year at UT. I had the opportunity to go on a mission trip with the Baptist Collegiate Ministry and work on the Optometry Team, where we set up free clinics for local residents. My next experience happened when I contacted the optometrist that trained the members of the Optometry Team before the trip to Jamaica. I was able to shadow him to get a feel for how the daily work of an optometrist actually feels. Below are links to the examples I listed above.
Jamaica Mission Trip
Shadowing Experience with Dr. Hildebrand
Since I entered optometry school, I have had the opportunity to volunteer my service to underpriviledged individuals in eastern Tennessee on Remote Area Medical trips.
Remote Area Medical volunteer
This picture above shows me using the auto-refractor to approximately determine this lady's lens prescription.
This picture above shows me using the auto-refractor to approximately determine this lady's lens prescription.