A series of articles written by SCCO Student Ambassadors.

My Favorite Clubs at MBKU That Have Made Optometry School Feel Like Home

by SCCO Student Ambassador, Mikayla Kaliski

“I joined every club during my first year…especially for the food” was what my co-worker in the class above me told me during my first week of optometry school last year. From tacos to bento boxes for club dinners she had a point, but in all seriousness, my favorite student organizations that made SCCO feel like home would have to be Vision and Development Training Club (VDT), the Fellowship of Christian Health Professional (FCHP), and Lions Club.

Vision and Development Training Club

At the start of my first year, my mom texted me to get into contact with her cousin’s college friend, Dr. Lam, who had graduated from SCCO and was practicing in Irvine. The text included a link to her practice and a picture of her. To my surprise when I opened an email later that week for the first Vision and Development Training Club (VDT) of the year, there was a picture of Dr. Lam. She was the guest speaker, and that day she talked about what it’s like working in vision therapy, a field of optometry that was entirely new to me. At the end of her presentation, I introduced myself and mentioned our connection – although I did not know my mom’s cousin’s maiden name and gave a very brief description – eventually two things added up and Dr. Lam was ecstatic to meet me! From that moment, SCCO started to feel like home knowing that people who are close to me have connections to the school. Over the next few meetings, VDT hosted a sports vision optometrist as well as another vision therapy optometrist. We tried different exercises patients go through in vision therapy from using paint markers to dot ants depending on their direction and using chopsticks to pick up pom poms.

Fellowship of Christian Health Professionals

The Fellowship of Christian Health Professionals is another student organization that has made SCCO feel like home. We meet every other week, and each meeting starts with highs and lows followed by Bible study and prayer groups. Last year we went through the book of James and this year we just started to go through the book of John. Talking about faith with my classmates and students from the other programs has been a real blessing. With FCHP, I have found a unique community as we are all navigating this chapter of grad school together and are very familiar with each other’s schedules, courses, and know the type of encouragement others might need to hear. Outside of club meetings we also meet to pray before exams or proficiencies, have lunch on campus together or go out for meals, have game nights and go out for sweet treats.

Lions Club

The Lions Club has provided me with the opportunity to serve the community. During my first year, I volunteered with the Lions Club and I got to work alongside my classmates to provide eye services in Orange County. I bonded with faculty and classmates when working in these capacities and as a first year I received a bucket load of support when learning new skills like direct ophthalmoscopy. I look forward to volunteering for future vision screenings and working together with my peers, especially as the number of skills in our tool kit continues to expand! This year I also joined SVOSH and hope to go on a mission trip to provide vision screenings to communities abroad.

Click here to read Student Ambassador bios on our website!