Rahul Joshi is from Pickering, Ontario. He completed his undergraduate coop program at the University of Toronto in Cellular and Molecular Biology and he is currently a 4th year intern at the University of Waterloo. Rahul has been greatly involved with CAOS since his first year of Optometry.
He began his journey with CAOS as one of the first year representatives, followed by president-elect in second year, and served as the president in his third year. Currently, he is part of the advisory board that allows him to continue providing support and guidance to the current CAOS executive members. As a president, Rahul had always been actively involved in representing the student voice and perspective on Canadian optometry issues at the Optometry Leaders Form conference, CAO Congress, annual CAOS Survey Reports, and the CAOS Aperture magazines. He was also part of a committee that organized CAOS Insights, Dining in the Dark fundraising for Optometry Giving Sight (raised over $4,900), and CAOS Interview Day. He has also been involved in furthering CAOS initiatives by fostering partnerships with the University of Waterloo, FYI doctors, Eye Recommend, and AOE. As a president, Rahul has spent countless hours to ensure smooth operation of the organization. His strong leadership skills have allowed him to collaborate and inspire his fellow colleagues in collaborating to work towards enhancing existing programs and services and developing new ones. These include Professional Lecture Series, Aperture magazine, Interview Day, ICare Eye Care community outreach, Mentorship program, Summer Internship, Lapel pins, Diopter-occluder stickers, Backpacks, official launch of CAOS YouTube channel in March, and much more.
Aside his intensive contributions to CAOS and his vision for furthering the profession, Rahul has also been a member of UW Optometry Sports Vision club, UW Advancement of Independent Optometry Club, and served a role as VP finance for AAO UW chapter and attended academy in Chicago last Fall. Moreover, Rahul values the importance of giving back, as he volunteered his time and knowledge on a VOSH mission trip to Peru last year and he also plans to build a private practice in his hometown, Pickering, to give back to his community. Despite of such an overwhelming schedule with school, CAOS, and AAO, Rahul was able to have time for leisure activities such as intermural soccer and volleyball, spending quality time with family and friends, and going to social events throughout the year.
Jason Chau is from Oakville, Ontario and moved to Waterloo where he completed a Bachelor of Science in Honours Science from the University of Waterloo. Currently, he is a 4th year student at the University of Waterloo School of Optometry and doing a Primary Care Externship at the Health Sciences Optometry Clinic.
Jason is the founder and content creator of his website, www.Whatoptometristsdo.com. He has been passionate about optometry and wanted to contribute to the profession even prior to receiving admission to the program; He believes that most of the issues the profession is currently facing can be improved through public education and awareness of what Optometrists do. Thus, he began to build a website using simple captions, eye-catching illustrations, and minimalistic designs to promote and educate the public on the value of regular eye exams performed by Optometrists. Jason was also the past VP of Marketing and Promotions, where he made significant contributions in the expansion of the UW CAOS chapter. He implemented an online system that allowed students to easily register and pay for their membership online. He also revamped the Interview Day Portal website to include a payment system, redesigned features to create a friendly user experience for graduates and employers, and streamlined the logistics of the event. Jason is also a co-author in several CAOS publications such as: the 2017 & 2018 CAOS Survey Reports, and the first and second issues of Aperture Magazine.
In 2017, Jason received the Alcon Scholarship for Research in Contact Lens Care for his accomplishments when he worked at the Centre for Ocular Research and Education (CORE, formerly known as Centre for Contact Lens Research) at the University of Waterloo. He investigated computational methods to analyze corneal nerve images.Jason has a strong passion for computers and technology. He enjoys spending his free time learning more computer skills, reading news in technology, playing video or board games, and playing soccer with his close friend Rahul Joshi.