Marshall University now has an Optometry Club for students who are interested in one of the most valuable senses of their body.

Sophomore biology major Chelsey Curry said she decided within her first two years at Marshall the university needed a club revolving around optometry.

Curry said she decided starting her own club was the best path to take.

“My freshman year I looked at the list of clubs and I wanted to join one that would look good on my resume for optometry school and there was not anything listed under optometry,” Curry said.

Curry said her internship with Dr. Stephen Wilson of Williamson, West Virginia, made her think about her future in optometry, which inspired the club.

“I got a lot of patient interaction and it really made me realize that in the next few years it will be my turn to go to optometry school, because with the stress of school it can just seem somewhat overwhelming and like you will never reach your goal,” Curry said.

“So, on the way to work one morning I was just thinking to myself, ‘How can I better my resume?’ and since Marshall did not have an optometry club, I decided to make a club myself,”  she said.

Starting a new club includes a variety of work, but Curry said that did not deter her from forming the organization.

“It was a lot of work at first and a lot of paperwork, but I decided that it was best to start it as soon as possible, and as a sophomore, I hope that by my senior year it will be built up more,” Curry said.

Curry said the Optometry Club offers community service opportunities for its members and is open to all majors and to anyone who is interested in eye health.

“What the club wants to emphasize is that it is not just for students who are pre-optometry,” Curry said. “Anyone can join the club. We do a lot of community service and we really want to emphasize that because everyone should care about their vision. It is one of the most, in my opinion, one of the most treasured senses that we have.”

The Optometry Club volunteers alongside Marshall Medical Outreach, which assists local optometrists in performing eye exams and matching members of the community with new sets of frames.

Curry also said the Optometry Club is working with representatives from the Housing and Residence Life office to plan an event to offer students free 10 minute massages in exchange for donations to MMO.

The club has gotten some national attention. According to the Association of School and Colleges of Optometry, Marshall University is only the second school with an optometry club in the state of West Virginia.

“Just last week we had a representative from Indiana University optometry come, and that was our first representative to come and speak to the club.” Curry said. “When I saw all of these recruiters from all of these optometry schools emailing me and wanting to come here it was just a relief seeing it all come together.”

The club is pushing to keep everyone’s eyes healthy.

“One thing that I would like to emphasis is yearly visits,” Curry said. “You don’t realize how important it is, especially if you think you can see well. You honestly won’t realize how much you may need glasses until you actually go and visit your optometrist.”

Curry emphasized the importance of taking breaks from technology.

“When I worked for Dr. Wilson we had this thing called the ‘20/20 rule’,” she said. “Every 20 minutes take a 20 second break and stare at something 20 feet away from you. I think that is really important for us college students where we are in the library for hours upon hours. It is good to take a break and just glance away.”

The club currently has 25 members on the roster.

Its next meeting is scheduled for Thursday at 6 p.m.  in Harris Hall oom 130.

Sabrena Hirst can be contacted at [email protected].