The beginning of the year marks a new group of students embarking on their final year of optometry, and this also means a new Optomsoc Executive Team. We recently had the chance to catch up with Angela Zhang, President of Optomsoc and ask her some questions about what she's looking forward to this year. 

Hey Angela, for our YO members who don't know, can you introduce yourself and what your main role/s are as Optomsoc President?

Hi everyone! My name is Angela Zhang and I'm the UNSW OptomSoc President for 2025. This year we have an amazing all-girls team and I’m so excited to be leading it! My role is to help ensure that all students feel supported to grow both personally and professionally within the vision science and optometry community. OptomSoc holds several exciting events every year which allow students from the different cohorts to socialise with each other and de-stress from our busy uni lives! I’m also responsible for helping secure our external sponsors and maintain a strong relationship with them throughout the year. Many of these sponsors are also excellent contacts for final-year students in terms of support for job-seeking and navigating life as a new grad! Internally, I act as a liaison between students and staff in optometry and hold roles within faculty committees that focus on EDI and student wellbeing. I also host weekly meetings with the OptomSoc team to check in on how we’re all doing and help balance out the workload effectively.

What drives your passion for Optometry?

My passion for optometry is driven by my love for helping others and the excitement of being part of an ever-growing field with so many options beyond just clinical practice! From anything as small as an extra -0.25D for a low myope to life-changing RGP lenses for a keratoconus patient, it is incredibly rewarding to receive a patient’s positive feedback and know you have made a difference in their life. I also really enjoy getting to know patients and building rapport so they can feel safe and comfortable in the knowledge that we genuinely care and want to provide the best care we possibly can to them.

Something you discovered about the uni not everyone may know?

The uni used to have a cat named Bluey who lived on campus near the upper end of main walkway… sadly haven’t seen him in a while because I think he got adopted, but he was so cute!

What is your go to place for food at uni?

I love Stockmarket inside Mathews food court on upper campus! They have the best salads and you can either order off their suggested menu or completely customise your own. I also like to visit Stellinis on lower campus for their delicious and super filling pastas!

Something others may not know about you:

I actually grew up in rural central Queensland, moved to Brisbane for high school, and then to Sydney for university! Having experienced both ends of the spectrum, I can truly appreciate the importance of having more accessible and comprehensive healthcare in remote/regional are

as. This understanding is one of the key factors that drove me towards a career in optometry.

What do you usually do to de-stress?

I love exploring different cafes and restaurants in Sydney and even have my own little foodie Instagram to share my finds. A good meal or cup of matcha never fails to cheer me up! I also enjoy baking/cooking, watching c-dramas and going on walks in the late afternoon when the sun isn’t too hot.

What song do you play that instantly lifts your mood?

Walking on Sunshine by Katrina And The Waves!

Best of luck with your final year of Optometry. Is there a particular rotation that you're interested in the most this year? (and why)

Thank you! I’m really looking forward to my regional preceptorship placement this year which hopefully will expose me to some more interesting cases, particularly surrounding paeds management and more complex pathology. I also love travelling so hopefully can make the most of our Hobart and Melbourne trips as well!

At the moment, do you have any preference with where you'd want to work/what you'd want to do after graduating? (eg. rural/metro/interstate, take a gap year before working etc)

I’m still keeping my options open at the moment, but I am interested in working rural/regional as a new grad! Ultimately, I think I would like to come back to metro and open my own practice though. I’m also currently engaging in a very interesting research project on the quality of life for AMD patients, so coming back for a PhD is not off the table either.

Is there anything you'd like to say/thoughts you have for future Angela at the end of this year?

I hope future Angela can look back and appreciate how rewarding it has been to be a part of such an amazing community, and to be grateful for all the opportunities and relationships I’ve built over the years! I hope I can have confidence in myself and my skills as I step into a new grad role and always remember why I chose to do optometry in the first place.