Student of the Year 2015
Shaimil Shah has been awarded Student of the Year
Cardiff University optometry undergraduate Shaimil Shah has helped refresh the optometry school’s buddy system and established the Boots Varsity Cup, a day of sports and socialising with the pharmacy school
From the start of his university career, Shaimil Shah wanted to help establish an optometry community among his fellow undergraduate peers.
Embracing university life, Mr Shah admits that he “wanted to try and get involved and help fellow students as much as possible.” However, for the optometry student this was not just on an academic level, but also on a social level because “it is important for new students to have some support when settling into university life for the first time,” he explained.
As a result, Mr Shah helped to refresh the optometry school’s buddy system, which now consists of ‘optom families’ whereby each student is assigned a trio of undergraduates from the other years within the school. In turn, this has helped to boost interaction within the school.
He has also helped the department boost interaction with other academic schools within the university, establishing the Boots Varsity Cup within Cardiff University.
“This event was a varsity-style event against the pharmacy school,” Mr Shah explained, adding: “It was an enjoyable day of sports, followed by a social event in the evening. The first year alone saw over 250 students participate.”
Overall, Mr Shah has practised what he has preached during his time at university: getting involved in as much as possible. This included establishing the Varsity Cup, as well as co-organising last year’s Opfest, the annual Eyeball and an OpSoc Ski trip to Panticosa in Spain.
Reflecting on his time at Cardiff University, Mr Shah said: “It’s been a pleasure to go through the student journey at Cardiff University and I have met some truly great people and lifelong friends along the way.”