Spring 2024 Nicholas A. Pennipede Memorial Scholarship Winner: Gurneet Kaur

Congratulations to Gurneet Kaur, an incoming Optometry freshman in UC Berkeley School of Optometry!

Gurneet is Spring 2024 Nicholas A. Pennipede Memorial Scholarship winner! She received $1,000 from Eye Associates to apply toward her education. She shared how she witnessed the challenges in providing proper eye care due to language and cultural barriers and how it inspires her to compassionately meet the eye care needs of different populations.

A few years ago, my 71-year-old Punjabi aunt was diagnosed with glaucoma. She does not understand English very well, so she had a hard time communicating with her optometrist and building a trusting relationship. Eventually, she discontinued the use of her eye drops which led to further complications. Her experience motivates me to be a culturally competent optometrist. I want to explain eye diseases and eye exam procedures to my patients in simple terminology. I will also provide resources in multiple languages to ensure my patients are receiving proper eye care. Additionally, despite a large Punjabi population in Fresno, I have seen few Punjabi American optometrists. With my ability to speak English, Punjabi, Spanish, Hindi, and Urdu, I hope to serve as a bridge between different ethnic communities and vision care.

We are proud to support Gurneet and other diligent students like her, and we look forward to witnessing their future successes as they pursue their academic goals.

Eye Associates offers two annual Nicholas A. Pennipede Memorial Scholarships awarded in the spring and fall semesters. Our goal is to empower students like Gurneet, who have demonstrated a strong work ethic and a love for learning, to focus on their studies without the added stress of worrying about tuition, fees, and other educational expenses. We hope to develop these exceptional people's potential and support their intellectual and personal development by investing in them.

To apply, please visit the Eye Associates Scholarship Page for more information.