Optometry student shows he’s a class act

A GCU student has progressed from his Class Representative role to a national council after impressing lecturers during the pandemic.

Fourth year BSc (Hons) Optometry student Anil Rach became Optometry Scotland’s first student representative at the end of last year, and has since been providing a voice for students across the country at the highest level of his profession.

He said: “There’s different governing bodies for optometry. There are bigger ones across the UK, like the General Optical Council and the College of Optometrists – they’ve always had student representatives. Optometry Scotland is the only one that’s purely focused on Scotland and they’d never had a student representative.”

Anil was approached as a result of his efforts in helping bridge the communication gap between staff and students over the last two years.

He explained: “Optometry Scotland were looking for a student from GCU and the University of the Highland and Islands.

“I’ve been the class representative for the optometry course since first year and the lecturers were impressed with how I’d represented students, especially during covid. They put me forward and I was definitely keen to go for it.”

Stepping into the role has allowed Anil to make new connections within his profession and get a taste for life after university.

“Optometry Scotland has its own council and executive committee, and I’ve been to meetings for both. I’ve basically been finding out what’s going on across the country and having a bit of input from a student’s perspective.  It’s been good to get an insight into how they work and hear what Optometry Scotland are doing for the profession. It’s actually been reassuring to learn how things will improve coming out of the pandemic."

He added; “It’s also been a great way for me to meet a lot more people from high up within optometry – it’s important to get my name out there at this stage in my career.”

After securing a first-class honours degree, Anil is now looking forward to graduating and would encourage other students to step out of their comfort zone and make the most of their time at GCU.

He explained: “I’ve got to know a lot of the staff at the university really well just through engaging with them. I think sometimes it’s easy to think that academics can be these big, scary people, but being involved in things like this is a great way to get to know them and realise they are just like you."

Anil added: “Experience in general is really important for students. If you can get a part time job within your profession, then it will help you massively because you realise how things work on the outside world.

“I’d definitely encourage any students to apply for a Class Representative role or get involved in their external body – it can only be of benefit to your future.”

Find out more about becoming a Class Representative here

By Ross Clark 
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