Optometrist trainee joins the Vision Express ranks

PASSIONATE Tracy Ly is the latest member of her family to qualify as an optometrist with Vision Express, following her two brothers into the field.
Tracy LyTracy Ly
Tracy Ly

And success for Tracy, from Portsmouth, has come much earlier than expected as she was one of only a select few in the UK to qualify four months ahead of her peers, after being hand-picked for a fast track into the profession.

Tracy’s brothers, Andrew who works at the Bluewater Vision Express store, and Harry at the Worcester store, are also optometrists. Andrew’s partner Eve is also retail manager of the company’s flagship Oxford Street store.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Tracy, 21, studied optometry at London City University before doing pre-registration training. She was soon encouraged take her exams earlier than planned, sitting her final tests recently.

Tracy said: ‘Working towards my qualification was intense – much more so than I had imagined - but I’m so happy to now be a qualified optometrist after all the hard work. It still feels surreal!

‘I can say is that I couldn’t have passed my exams without the support of my friends, family, colleagues, supervisor and mentor.’

Tracy developed a passion for optometry when she was younger, working in her local optician as a receptionist when she was just 14. When she started working for Vision Express, her career really began taking shape.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

‘I worked as a sales associate for Vision Express in Canary Wharf when I was in my second year of university and it was a huge turning point for me,’ she said.

‘It allowed me to become more confident communicating with customers, and perhaps more importantly, it’s where I met some fantastic colleagues who taught me how to be a good team member, as well as a good optometrist.’

She added: ‘While it’s been an experience moving away to focus on my qualifications, my heart is in Portsmouth, so I really hope I can return to work in the Cascades store, and help the community with their vision care needs.’

Related topics: