Charity leads to career

When an optometry student could not pay for his train ticket, a kind stranger stepped in. Little did this stranger know this random act of kindness encouraged the student to start a career with Specsavers.

Two years ago, Vaishal Dave was on a train when he realised he had forgotten his wallet. A conductor said he would have to get off at the next stop so Nimesh Popat, then a divisional relationship manager at Specsavers, came to the student’s rescue by paying for his ticket.

The pair swapped numbers and kept in touch. Vaishal said: ‘I offered to pay him back but he wouldn’t let me. He asked how uni was going and whether I’d found a pre-reg position.’