As a pre-optometry student I highly recommend finding a volunteering position in an area that you are interested in. Volunteering shows excellent personal skills that look great on both your resume and your application to optometry schools. In addition, most schools require some volunteer experience. In my case I decided to volunteer with the Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB). To determine where you would like to volunteer I would suggest the following:
1. Research
- Do your research on the company.
- You want to determine if the company is a good fit for both of you.
2. Contact
- Get in contact with the company to see if there are any positions that you are interested in.
- If you have an idea of a position you would like and they do not have one ask to implement the position.
3. Start volunteering
- Make sure to schedule your time according to your volunteer schedule.
- Also ensure that you still leave time for your personal life.
Any volunteering is good volunteering, but the best volunteering is with something you’re passionate about. This is why I volunteered as a vision mate (helping the blind or low visibility clients with special requirements) for the CNIB. While I volunteered with visually impaired individuals, there are many other possibilities with any volunteering program, such as Big Brothers Big Sisters and many others.
Just as a last remark I want to remind you to continually keep track of your volunteer hours, as you may be required to provide an estimate of how many hours you have volunteered with a company for your optometry application. Good luck and have fun!
