Martin found her passion for humanitarian work while volunteering with UMSL's chapter of Student Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity last month. The motto of OneSight EssilorLuxottica Foundation, the largest eye care nonprofit in the world, is “good vision changes everything.” That sentiment has stuck with Abbey Martin, a student in the College of Optometry at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, ever since she participated in a humanitarian trip with the organization in late April. Martin traveled to central Alberta, Canada, to serve patients in the Maskwacis Cree tribe on their reservation through a trip organized by UMSL’s chapter of Student Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity. Over the course of several days, the students and a group of licensed optometrists performed vision screenings and helped patients, including many young kids, get fitted for a pair of glasses. It was Martin’s first humanitarian trip as a student in the College of Optometry, and it left a lasting impression. (fb)

Sam Brown had a string of jobs after graduating from college, but none he felt passionate enough about to turn into a career. First, there was a gig selling copiers in southwest Illinois. “A lot of driving from town to town, hoping that some church or business needed a copier to hopefully get paid that month,” Brown said. He then moved on to a marketing role, sorting through ads all day, making sure that they were brand compliant. After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Brown went to work at his parents’ catering business for a few years. It gave him time to consider what was important to him and led him to enroll at the University of Missouri–St. Louis to make a career change. (fb)