A slightly embarrassing childhood memory oddly ended up shaping UC Merced senior Austin Ofreneo’s life.

The Modesto native said he remembered having trouble seeing when he was younger, so he would steal his sister’s glasses and hide them in his desk.

“I wasn’t paying attention in class because I couldn’t see,”

he recalled.

SUN-STAR PHOTO BY BEA AHBECK – Austin Ofreneo, co-founder and co-president of iSight, the pre-optometry and vision club at UC Merced. The club’s goal is to provide free vision screenings to preschool-aged children in Merced County.

It wasn’t until Ofreneo was 8 and had a vision screening at his elementary school that he found out he needed glasses.

The club’s goal is to provide free vision screenings to preschool-aged children in Merced County.

These tests are important because you are less likely to complain of vision problems when you are between 3 and 5 years old, Ofreneo said.

Leslie Schleth, head nurse for Merced City School District, said the club helped the district conserve resources.

While the club tested students’ eyesight, Schleth would also perform routine hearing and dental exams, she said.

Usually, the procedure would require the district to pull a nurse from another school to help, but that wasn’t necessary with all the extra help from the UC Merced students.

Ofreneo and Lam, who also graduated Saturday, are planning to apply to Optometry School next year.

What attracted both students to the profession was the relationship patients build with their doctors.

“I’ve seen the same doctor since I was 8,”

Ofreneo said.

“You build relationships with your patients, and I want to be able to do that when I’m older.”