Hello Blogosphere!
It may come as a surprise to some people, but us optometry students do enjoy a nice break from studying, exams, and practicals now-and-then. In fact, one of our fondest forms of study breaks is a little retail therapy. That’s why when the leaves start to change, the SCO community anxiously anticipates Optifest. Organized by SCO’s AOSA, Optifest is an annual trade show of over 20 leading national vendors in glasses, sunglasses, and ophthalmic equipment. Optifest is a marketplace where students can interact with vendors, try on some stylish new shades, and purchase some new specs for the school year ahead. And if anything, Optifest can be a bit crazy at times too, as hundreds of students corral to get the best deals on glasses and equipment.
Besides taking the evening off to shop around, students were also provided a free dinner at Optifest. There were even over 50 prize giveaways, including an iPad and Kindle Fire up for grabs as grand prizes!
Take a peek below at the photos from Optifest and see the fun you missed:
Optifest was the kick-off for SCO’s World Sight Day fundraiser. Each year AOSA hosts a fundraiser to support global vision awareness by organizing a t-shirt contest and selling the winning t-shirt design to the SCO community. All proceeds from the t-shirt sales goes to the World Sight Day program. On October 11, the SCO community will join together in sporting this year’s t-shirt to celebrate World Sight Day. Most importantly, we’ve raised over $2700 in t-shirt sales this year to donate to World Sight Day! Check out the winning design below created by fellow student, Janette Perkins:
Our World Sight Day Shirt Design!
Students ordering their 2012 World Sight Day shirts
Optifest was a great way to start another SCO school year. Special thanks to all the SCO staff that helped AOSA put on the event and to the AOSA liaisons who generously helped out at all the booths throughout the night…You all ROCK! Cheers to Optifest for being it’s own little stimulus package…
iPad and Kindle Fire Grand Prize Winners (and two second-years to boot!)
Carpe Diem,
Amy