Michelle Mann BOARD DIRECTOR | 2022 to present
I am a first generation Indo-Canadian born and raised in Surrey, BC. I am the eldest of three (I have a younger sister and a younger brother). My parents worked tirelessly to provide us with a childhood that was rather busy. It was filled with various activities which led me to play soccer competitively during my youth. Sports taught me valuable life skills that I still carry with me to this day. My involvement in extracurriculars kept me away from trouble, my parents always stressed the importance of education and to go above and beyond what they could achieve. After high school, I attended Simon Fraser University where I achieved a Bachelor of Science. At a very young age, I always knew I wanted to be in the
medical field and it wasn’t until I was 16 years old I knew for sure I wanted to be an optometrist. I appreciated how this field of medicine is so intertwined with technology and allows you to have a good work-life balance. Throughout undergrad, my main objective was to do what I had to do to get into optometry school. So in 2013 I was accepted into MCPHS University and was going to finally pursue my life long dream. So I headed to Boston for optometry school and this was going to be my first time living on my own and also visiting the east coast. I was not nervous, I was ready. It was definitely challenging at times but I would not trade that experience for anything in the world. Not only did I learn to become an optometrist but I learned how to be fiercely independent. During my rotations, I was able to explore areas of the US that I may not have been able to see otherwise. I was very fortunate to live in Connecticut, Texas, and Utah. During my rotations, I was able to serve various groups from military veterans to the more vulnerable. At the end of my rotations, although I enjoyed my time in the US, I knew it was time for me to come home. After working at various optometry clinics across the lower mainland, I was presented the opportunity to open my very own clinic from scratch. This was a very overwhelming project but with the support of my family, I am happy to say that my clinic opened in Surrey (back to my roots) in June 2022. This has been a full circle moment for me and being able to provide such a valuable service to my community is such an honor. Moving from Boston, I came back and now live in Langley. When I moved back, I wanted to get involved to better understand the community I reside in. I think it is important to be a productive member of society and to do that, you have to be aware of the needs of our community. I am very fortunate to sit on a few committees in Langley (Langley Memorial Hospital and Township of Langley). These committees have taught me so much and I have met such wonderful and inspiring individuals. I was approached to join the Board of Directors of Options and I am truly honored to be sitting with individuals that come from diverse backgrounds but all have a common goal to do better for their community. I am looking forward to being a part of Options and continuing to contribute to their great work. MICHELLE MANN
OPTIONS COMMUNITY SERVICES SOCIETY
NOVEMBER 2022
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