Optometry at academic level is fairly new in Zimbabwe, while Optometrists have been practicing for years they have always gotten their education abroad and the field only got into Zimbabwean universities about 7 years ago and my university was one the first to adopt Optometry under the department of Ophthalmology. To prevent flooding in the industry the university only accepts 7 students per year into the program, there lies the best thing about my school. The small numbers which for selfish and professional reasons are of benefit. The selfish reasons being that I’ve always found comfort in small groups of people and that is if I have no choice but to be in a group. Professionally because the learning process just becomes much more efficient and more focused which is what will make me a better Optometrist than you. JOKES. But I will be good either way. My class has 7 students. There’s been 7 of us since the first year and now we are in our fourth year. Bunch of smart humans who apparently will never repeat an academic year and that is because they have been given a platform to be maximize on their academic endeavor as they take advantage of the small numbers. One of the reasons why I have enjoyed Optometry is that I not only feel like a student but I get to be a teacher at times. Our Optometry unit is located right next to the school of Ophthalmology, so it is an entire teaching hospital filled with Optometry and Ophthalmology students and I have always found enjoyable the experience of teaching them basic techniques like refraction while they take me through advanced pathology which usually requires more attention span than I can provide. Putting my learning deficit aside, this marriage of future eye care professionals in the same place is one of the best things about my school and constantly pocking for more and more knowledge is one of my favorite things. The next thing is a bit weird but I suppose some motivation is essential even if it seems a bit harsh. I’ve always loved the push that comes with being told that if you fail 2 modules you are repeating the academic year. Passing to be good is still my biggest push, but the threshold you have to meet is so low that it’s one of my biggest motivators. I am a strange person; I would probably never make SRC for supporting such a system but anything for the push I suppose. It’s a good experience to be in a school that pushes you hard, university is one of the most distracting environments and the fact that they are fighting for us to not slack by such real and scary threats is really valuable and unfortunately or fortunately it’s an initiative I would defend if I ever make Student Representative Council. To close this, I want to talk about the family I found at the College of Health Sciences in Zimbabwe. The interaction between students and the student admin is direct and that makes it easy to navigate your whole academic journey. Maybe it’s because I’m just the class representative but I think my classmates are close to the admin too. What makes our academic journey much more fruitful and meaningful as students is not feeling like we are ignored and our needs are never met. Being in sync with the people responsible for our journey means we have an enjoyable experience as students. That is what makes education meaningful.