“It was like learning to understand myself”

How old were you when you were diagnosed with nystagmus? How has it affected your life?

I was diagnosed with nystagmus at six months old. It was quite apparent. My parents saw that my eyes weren’t focusing and that they weren’t staying still, so they took me to the opticians and they diagnosed me with quite severe nystagmus. I had low vision, which was quite concerning alongside nystagmus, because of my ability to focus overall. So, I was wearing glasses from that age as well.

When I was six, I was diagnosed both with achromatopsia, an eye condition that gives me severe short sightedness and means my vision will only go to 6/36 while wearing glasses, and photophobia – extreme light sensitivity. I wear sunglasses outside most of the time.

It was very nerve-wracking just going outside when I was younger, because it was so bright, and I could only just about see. Along with that, I’m colour blind.

In school, there were a lot of challenges: colours, identifying certain things, struggling to see the board in classes. On a day-to-day basis, things were pretty frustrating and stressful. At that point, I also didn’t understand my condition. I had trouble with seeing things, identifying certain colours and images, and looking at things from far away. It was definitely a struggle growing up.

Not being able to go where you want to go is extremely infuriating, and very frustrating. I definitely had a lot of nerves when it comes to my career, initially

Were you ever nervous about how these conditions might affect your career?

Definitely, 100%. I had a very overactive imagination as a child. I still am very ambitious – maybe a bit more realistic, but still very ambitious. When I was younger, I had loads of dreams. I wanted to play in the NBA, because I’m a big basketball fan. I wanted to be a pilot. I wanted to be a racing driver.

When you’re a kid, you think about all those things. But one of the other main things that interested me was optometry, and that was one of the main things I wanted to do. But going into my initial career path, I found that I couldn’t do it. I had low visual acuity and no colour vision, and the pure light sensitivities of looking into an ophthalmoscope would have nearly blinded me at that point.

One of the most nerve-wracking things was having a lot of potential career paths that I wanted to do, but that I was physically unable to do. That made for a very tough couple years before getting into Specsavers. You think, ‘Well, I want to do this, but I can’t. I want to do this, but I can’t do this either.’ Not being able to go where you want to go is extremely infuriating, and very frustrating. I definitely had a lot of nerves when it came to my career, initially.

You joined Specsavers when you were 16, and became an assistant manager this year. How has Specsavers supported you when it comes to your condition?

With a condition like this, you never want to feel like you’re different. You never want to feel singled out. There’s a lot of looking at things at Specsavers – a lot of reading, looking at different barcodes and things like that. Initially, we didn’t have scanners on our desks. But the directors have been the most supportive of everyone I’ve worked with. They made sure scanners were on every single desk. I never felt like I had to go to one particular desk, it was every single desk, and I was able to dispense.

They changed my life in a massive way. It allowed me to be myself in this kind of environment, along with not having to manage my condition constantly

The support that I felt benefited me the most was the fact that I was treated completely and utterly equally – in terms of enlarging font if I ever needed it, putting me through all the same training routes, all the same promotional routes, everything. Specsavers honestly did change everything for me. They changed my life in a massive way. It allowed me to be myself in this kind of environment, along with not having to manage my condition constantly. They made it so much easier for me to manage it on a day-to-day basis.

Could you say a bit about your career path with Specsavers?

I did my GCSEs, and once I’d finished I started working at Specsavers over the summer and loved it. Obviously, when you go to work, you tend to have a few bad days. But working at Specsavers, I’ve loved every single moment.

I joined when I was 16, and I was pre-screening. What was amazing was the development through those years, and all the opportunities that were earnt and given. Because of my light sensitivity, being in pre-screen was brilliant because I was in a dark room, with low light levels.

Going into dispensing, I was quite nervous because it was something brand new to me. But it was a good change. Putting the scanners in, I was able to dispense quite easily. Then I wanted to do the in-store trainer role, so I got into that as well, which was amazing for me because I could pass my own knowledge on to new starters, new trainees, or anyone who needed help. And then in February, I was promoted to assistant manager.

What do you think the biggest challenge has been in your career so far?

When I started, I didn’t know a lot about my condition. I didn’t understand it very well. If you see me on a day-to-day basis, I tend to squint a lot, I tend to look at things a lot more closely than most. Some people ask questions: ‘Why are you doing that? Why do you have to look so closely?’ I think most of the clinical staff already knew the condition, so they were aware. The nerve-wracking part was trying to explain it initially. Being in this environment, and being in the whole Specsavers environment, has given me a lot more competence to say, ‘Well, this is my condition. This is how it works.’ I’m able to explain it. That was definitely one of my biggest challenges, because it was like learning to understand myself, and being able to explain that to someone as well.

Do you think it helped you on a personal level, being able to explain it and talking it through with people?

Definitely. For me, being in an optics environment was full of irony. My friends found it funny when I first told them I’d got a job here. Just being around the test room, asking those questions to clinical staff: ‘What does this mean? Why are my eyes like this? How can this happen?’ They’ve always been extremely supportive. Our current ophthalmic director actually sat me down and went through it all when I was 17 or 18, and helped me understand the entire condition. It gave me an amazing boost of confidence, that I was able to carry with me every day. If someone was to ask me, ‘Why are you having to do that?’ I can explain it on the fly.

Being in an optics environment was full of irony... My friends found it funny when I first told them I’d got a job here

What do you think your biggest success has been in your career so far?

I think it was being promoted to the assistant manager role. I’m quite young in the role. When I started, I was one of the youngest members of the team, and obviously over five years I’ve worked my way up. I’ve had amazing support from all of my colleagues, my managers, my directors – they’ve been behind me 100%. It’s the culture that’s created behind you. It’s a very supportive, caring culture, which really motivates me to want to do more.

It’s the culture that’s created behind you. It’s a very supportive, caring culture, which really motivates me to want to do more

I was getting along with all the staff members, and then obviously new team members came in and I was training them as well. I wanted to take on a bigger responsibility. I was like, ‘I want this. And I think I can earn it.’ After a few months they gave me the role, and it’s definitely been one of the biggest successes in my career.

Have you got any ambitions, either for the near future or for the longer term, for anything else you want to achieve?

My main goal at the moment is to get to director level. I want to get onto the pathway. Being in this store environment, I want to have my own store, with a similar environment. I want every single member of my potential team in the future to feel as nurtured and helped as I always did. One of my biggest ambitions is to get to that point.

I want every single member of my potential team in the future to feel as nurtured and helped as I always did

Once I’m at that point, in the long-term the aim would be to go into regional management and regional training. I have a lot of avenues presented to me right now, and I’m quite excited to see which one I can go down. But my main one, right now, is that I’d love to have my own store.

Have you got any advice for people with eye conditions like yours who might be worried about starting out with work?

My condition is quite rare, so I haven’t met a lot of people with it. In terms of eye conditions in general, a lot of people can be quite nervous. I’ve known someone with the same condition as me, who doesn't even like stepping out of the house sometimes. It can be really nerve-wracking. The main thing I’ve always told myself, and I’ve always been told, is that the only thing standing in your way is you. You can get through anything, as long as the support is behind you, and as long as you’re motivated. There’s nothing you can’t achieve.

I have a lot of avenues presented to me right now, and I’m quite excited to see which one I can go down

The thing that outlines this entire experience is that it can depend on where you work. Working at Specsavers did change my life completely. It changed my outlook on everything; it built my confidence. Coming into Specsavers, I wasn’t always that confident with myself. Working with the directors and the staff and the team here is out of this world. It’s unbelievable.