UNSW Class of 2024 Optometrists Celebrated

Professor Lisa Keay, Head of School, reflected on the unique journey of this cohort who commenced their studies in 2020, coinciding with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Our students who graduated as the 2024 cohort sadly joined the university for their first year in 2020. So what would’ve been a really exciting first year was the year that we had a devastating global pandemic,” Prof Keay noted.

“I do want to recognise the resilience of this group. Your early years of university study, were dramatically impacted by lockdowns,” she said, while acknowledging that the cohort had “made up for lost time” and formed “incredible friendships that will be lifelong”.

I do want to recognise the resilience of this group. Your early years of university study, were dramatically impacted by lockdowns

Indigenous Health Focus

A highlight of the evening was the announcement that in 2025, for the first time, the residential pre-programme for medicine includes the opportunity to study optometry. This programme offers a pathway to university for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander school leavers who don’t have an Australian tertiary admissions rank (ATAR).

Professor Maree Toombs, Deputy Dean of UNSW’s Indigenous Health Education Unit, shared insights into her background as a Euralayie/Kooma woman from northwestern New South Wales, descending from six generations of Aboriginal women healers.

“For many Aboriginal people we have a lot of health disparities. And it’s not that we can’t look after ourselves, it’s just that the baseline for us is a lot lower because we were left off the invitation list in the early days of colonisation,” Prof Toombs explained.

Retired optometrist Phil Anderton echoed these sentiments while sharing his experiences providing eye care in rural and remote Aboriginal communities, emphasising that “the answer for Indigenous health is leadership by Indigenous people with assistance from those who are prepared to assist”.

The celebration acknowledged the graduating class’s achievements while pointing to the future of optometry in Australia – one increasingly focussed on community engagement, outreach, and Indigenous health partnerships.

Prof Keay concluded the formal proceedings by expressing her confidence that “this graduating class are going to do amazing things as clinicians, as clinician scientists… equipped to work in the healthcare sector but also make a tremendous difference to the lives of others”.

The celebration acknowledged the graduating class’s achievements while pointing to the future of optometry in Australia

Excellence in Social Engagement

This year’s mivision prize for Excellence in Social Engagement was jointly awarded to Tommy Tran from Eyecare Network in Canley Heights and Justin McNamara from Shire Optometrists in the Sutherland Shire, recognising their exceptional contributions to community eye care through outreach programmes.

Mr Tran’s journey began during his studies when he participated in an outreach programme to Cambodia, working alongside experienced ophthalmologists, optometrists, and nurses.

“I’ve always wanted to help people,” Mr Tran shared. “When you’re working in those environments, you don’t have all the equipment to hand that you’ve been trained to use. It’s quite extraordinary… you’ve got to just get on with what you’ve got, you’ve got to make things work. I felt like my clinical skills improved in leaps and bounds, there was so much growth.”

Mr Tran’s outreach proved transformational, and he said it won’t be his last. “That first one experience made me hungry to do more and to keep giving back. I told myself that whenever I get another opportunity to do it, I will.”

For fellow prize winner Justin McNamara, the mivision prize provided valued recognition of his outreach work, the contribution he had made to communities, and the skills he developed through these experiences.

“When you’re examining eyes with very little equipment, you develop the fundamental skills that you wouldn’t otherwise need when you’re in a city practice,” Mr McNamara explained.

He said working on the ground with Brien Holden Vision and Lions Outback Vision teams helped him realise the complexities of delivering services to remote communities. “It’s so interesting to see how the different outreach services work… They are just so well set up with teams on the ground working with Indigenous people. Just like Phil Anderton was saying, they know things that unless you lived in that community, you just don’t recognise.”

Both students credited UNSW for supporting their participation in these programmes, with Mr Tran noting that the university “saw it as an opportunity for me to accelerate my growth” and Mr McNamara adding that “support from the school allows us to do those unique things”.

Mr Tran and Mr McNamara were just two of many optometry graduates celebrated at the awards evening. The other prize winners were:

• The Stage 1 Optics Prize: Sophie Liu and Sara Rajab. (Prize Donor: Essilor Australia).
• The Stage 2 Clinical Optometry Prize: Ruth Chen. (Prize Donor: BOC Ophthalmic Instruments).
• The Stage 3 Environmental Optometry and Dispensing Prize: Patrick Hoang. (Prize Donor: UVEX Safety).
• The Stage 3 Ocular Diseases Prize: Anthony Doueihi and Rui Liu. (Prize Donor: Essilor Australia).
• The CooperVision Prize in Contact Lenses: Josie Wehbe.
• The Optometry NSW/ACT Prize in Ocular Therapeutics: Emily Field and Wenjie Siew.
• The Australian College of Optometry Award: Justin McNamara.
• The Dr Andrew Whatham Prize for Stage 5 Centre for Eye Health (CFEH) Clinical Excellence: Halery Xia. (Prize Donor: CFEH/Guide Dogs NSW/ACT).
• The Research Project Prize in the Master of Clinical Optometry: Jennifer Doeur, Chrstina Nguyen, and Harleen Atwal (shared). (Prize Donor: Optometric Vision Research Foundation).
• The Australasian College of Behavioural Optometrists Prize in Binocular and Children’s Vision: Rosanna Lee.
• The Designs for Vision Prize: Rosanna Lee.
• The Luxottica Prize for the Best Performance in Clinical Ocular Therapeutics (Master of Clinical Optometry, Stage 2): Christopher Shamoun.
• The Optical Distributors and Manufacturers Association Richard Grills Low Vision Prize: Gada Harmouch.
• The Specsavers Prize for Excellence in Patient Management: Gada Harmouch.
• The Specsavers Prize for Overall Excellence in the Bachelor of Vision Science Master of Clinical Optometry Program: Irene Wei.
• University Medal Winner: Irene Wei.
• The Brian Kirby Prize for Research Excellence in Optometry: Dr Janelle Tong.
• The Guide Dogs NSW/ACT Prize for Excellence in Orientation and Mobility: Krista Jaffrey.
• The Postgraduate Ocular Therapeutics Prize: Angel Hu. (Prize Donor: Luxottica).