When she was younger, Tristyn Lautner had her eyesight saved by an optometrist. It was then she decided she would want to be an optometrist herself, and do something to help save the eyesight of others. Eventually, she found herself accepted into optometry school at the University of Waterloo and has just completed her third year of studies.

With the academic year finished, she is now qualified to be able to help out with Volunteer Optometric Services for Humanity, or VOSH, and is off to Senegal to put her education into practice. She will be going with classmates from the University of Waterloo Optometry program.

“We have seven clinic days planned; we’re bringing over 2,000 pairs of glasses; we’ve been in contact with a cataract surgeon who's going to take referrals for surgery and we also have plans to bring safety glasses for workers in a factory,” Lautner said to describe what will be a busy itinerary.

The idea of giving back is one of the main reasons why she got into optometry in the first place, Lautner explained.

“After second year, we’ve kind of learned the basics of being in clinic, so this is when we’re allowed to go on these trips, and so I’m so excited I can finally do something I wanted to do for a long time.”

The trip itself is self-funded, so to help offset some of the costs, there is a GoFundMe set up.

The trip will be in July, and it is expected they will see upwards of 1800 patients over the course of the seven clinic days.

While in Senegal, Lautner will also be bringing 95 feminine hygiene kits with her as part of Days for Girls. She will be working with the Peace Corps in the area to help distribute the kits.