Class of 2020 with their lecturers and supervisors

Organised by a small committee of Part IV students from the New Zealand Optometry Student Society (NZOSS), the annual Eyeball is the highlight of the year for Auckland University School of Optometry and Vision Science students, and possibly their supervisors and lecturers too.

Given all the speculation and uncertainty of 2020, it feels almost surreal that we were able to deliver the most anticipated social event of the year, despite delays and issues caused by lockdowns and rescheduled exams. As it has been a year of difficulties for everyone, we were particularly lucky to have found sponsors who we can’t thank enough for coming to our aid to make the 2020 Eyeball the success it was. So, a very big thank you to our gold sponsors, Specsavers and NZOSS; our silver sponsor, Radiant Health on behalf of Bauch & Lomb; and our bronze sponsor, the New Zealand Association of Optometrists (NZAO) for their support.

The Part IV ball committee was also heavily aided by their Part V peers, who stepped in to help when the ball was delayed to the end of the year, leaving many Part IV committee members juggling exams and ball planning at the same time. A big thanks particularly to my predecessor, NZOSS 2020 president Cindy Cheakhun and her 2020 committee members, Coco Cui, Jasmine Feng, Hayden Lee and Ricky Xue.

The 20/20 Eyeball committee: Yani Ho, Tracy Xu, Rishi Khattar and Anna George. Front row Minyao Chen, Kassy Chen and Daniel Won

Themed the ‘Golden Globe’, the 2020 Eyeball was held in the immaculately decorated Maritime Room in the Viaduct Harbour. Attendees were greeted with an amazing view, before enjoying a glamourous night comprising a light-hearted award ceremony, dancing, music, delicious food and beverages, and great company.

This year was not what anyone could have predicted. So, it was great to celebrate both the end of this difficult year and exams with our colleagues, supervisors, lecturers and sponsors.

Thanks too, to my fellow ball committee members Kassy Chen, Minyao Chen, Anna George, Yani Ho, Daniel Wong and Tracy Xu.