New clubs at the School of Optometry and Vision Science
By Sana Owais
We have two new student clubs at the School: the University of Waterloo Advancement of Independent Optometry Club (UWAIOC) and the American Academy of Optometry (AAO) Student Chapter.
University of Waterloo, Advancement of Independent Optometry Club
The University of Waterloo Advancement of Independent Optometry Club (UWAIOC) was founded in early 2015 by Jaclyn Chang (Class of 2018) and Courtney Fan (Class of 2018); two optometry students passionate about private practice. In its first year running, the UWAIOC has grown to include 88 members! The club was created to increase early exposure to information vital to their future careers. Chang, who previously attended the Illinois College of Optometry in Chicago, and Fan, who earned a Masters of Accounting at the University of Waterloo, pooled their knowledge and resources to find a way to share this information with their fellow classmates. In the process, they were put in contact with the Student Optometric Leadership Network (SOLN stylized as SOLutioN), a student-run non-profit organization with the goal of making the optometric profession stronger by inspiring and educating future Optometry Doctoral (OD) students.
Chang, the current Co-President of the club, and President-elect Martina Sawatzky (Class of 2019) attended the 6th annual SOLutioN conference in Denver, CO (June 9-12), connecting with private practice club presidents from every optometry school in the United States and Puerto Rico. At the conference, these student leaders take part in a leadership training program that allows them to share club ideas, gain resources, and learn skills that they can carry into their future careers. Each year all schools are given the opportunity to compete for the Preston Cup, named after Preston Smith, a founding member of SOLutioN, who tragically lost his life in an automobile accident in 2011. Three or four finalists give a presentation on the work the club has done over the past year, all club presidents cast a vote, and the Preston Cup is then awarded to the most deserving private practice or practice management club; one which shows the most growth and innovation. Having impressed their peers with their accomplishments and explosive membership growth, the University of Waterloo Advancement of Independent Optometry Club won the Preston Cup! They are proud to bring the Preston Cup back home to Waterloo as the first Canadian optometric private practice club and excited to see what the future of private practice holds.
We would love to have your support and involvement in our club. For more information on UWAIOC and SOLutioN, please visit:
University of Waterloo, American Academy of Optometry (AAO) Student Chapter
The American Academy of Optometry (AAO) was founded in 1922 and epitomizes to “promote the art and science of vision care through lifelong learning”. Through the fellowship process, optometrists and professionals who have contributed to the vision science field can apply to earn the FAAO designation to dedicate their commitment to the “highest standards of optometric practice”.
The AAO hosts an annual Meeting each fall in different cities each year across the United States of America. Academy 2015 in New Orleans, Louisiana attracted not only faculty researchers at the University of Waterloo, but also a number of optometry students that attended to either showcase their research, enrich their education outside the classroom, or complete the Student Fellowship.
Worldwide, student membership with the American Academy of Optometry is comprised of 4,120 student members across 20 student chapters where the student chapters are primarily in the United States of America (18) and Canada (2). The AAO Student Fellowship program is the flagship program offered by the Academy for students. It requires students to attend an Academy conference and take part in a prescribed set of CE lectures, symposia and meetings in order to earn the title of a ‘Student Fellow’. Internationally, 1,741 Student Fellows have completed the Student Fellowship Program since its inception in 2011 (J. Brown, personal communication, March 24, 2016). The School of Optometry and Vision Science is proud to recognize our current University of Waterloo Student Fellows who earned this distinction this past year in New Orleans; Jonathan Dinh, Karin Lypka, Wylie Tan and Jessica Yang. Congratulations! We are incredibly proud of all of your hard work!
Student Fellow award recipients, Karin Lypka (pictured left) and Jonathan Dinh (pictured right) proudly display their awards with Faculty Liaison, Kristine Dalton at the University of Waterloo School of Optometry and Vision Science 2015 Awards Ceremony.
The University of Waterloo AAO Student Chapter became an official AAO student chapter in early 2015, thanks to the hard work of its student executive, optometry students Salsabeel Jadi, Wylie Tan, Jaclyn Chang and Sana Owais and their Faculty Liaison, Dr. Kristine Dalton. Currently, the University of Waterloo AAO Student Chapter has 37 student members and four active Student Fellows. The purpose of the Student Chapter is to serve as a bridge between the AAO and Waterloo optometry students, vision science graduate students and optometry residents. The goals include fundraising to support student travel to Academy Meetings and informing students of optometric research and clinical practice through educational sessions.
This past fall, the UW Student Chapter raised $800 for student travel grant opportunities by selling spectacle-themed necklaces and cufflinks . Please stay tuned for the student application process for travel grants in August 2016. Thank you to all that supported the cause!
Optometry students model necklaces in order raise money for student travel grants to Academy 2016 in Anaheim, California. Special thank you to Ema Hazra, Anita Kumar, Phyllis Ho and Satheeisha Tharmarajah for showcasing necklaces and helping with the fundraising efforts!
Finally, this winter, the Student Chapter hosted an AAO information session featuring Shamrozé Khan, OD, FAAO and Kristine Dalton, OD, FAAO who spoke about fellowship with the Academy. Khan galvanized optometry students to pursue their fellowship with the AAO (FAAO), as she recounted her personal fellowship journey. Dalton inspired students to attend the Academy meetings by highlighting the high priority the AAO conference gives to students. She spoke of the student-centered events such as the ‘Student Welcome Reception’ and ‘Student Networking Luncheon’, as well as the priority entry into the Exhibit Hall for students as well as their flagship Student Fellowship Program. Khan and Dalton sparked a lot of interest in the Academy with many students eager to sign up for the Student Fellowship process!
Academy 2016 will be hosted in Anaheim, California with future meetings being held in Chicago, Illinois (2017) and San Antonio, Texas (2018). We hope to see you then!
References
- About Us. (2016). American Academy of Optometry. Retrieved from http://www.aaopt.org/about.
- Information for the Press. (2016). American Academy of Optometry. Retrieved from http://www.aaopt.org/About/InfoForPress.