Melanie came into the optical industry after completing her Bachelor of Arts degree in Gender Studies. This qualification gave her a unique perspective of human behaviour when it came to understanding optical needs. She found training and staff support to be her passion after working as an optical dispenser in a large practice, and continued her studies to complete a Cert IV in Optical Dispensing through ACOD. This brought the opportunity to provide more student support and training to those undertaking the course. Melanie is excited to see the optical industry thrive, with more optical assistants upskilling into knowledgeable and capable optical dispensers.