Transitions Optical and the Opticians Association of Canada (OAC) announce the winners of the 2022 Students of Vision Scholarship program: Samiha Reza, Kallisha Burk and Anil Adhikari.
- Samiha Reza, a student Optometrist at the University of Waterloo Optometry, will be awarded a grand prize scholarship of $2,500.
- Kallisha Burk, a student optician at Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) Opticianry, will be awarded a scholarship of $1,500.
- Anil Adhikari, a student optician at Georgian College Opticianry, will be awarded a scholarship of $500.
This year’s scholarship was inspired by research from Transitions Optical demonstrating the need for further education surrounding eye health for diverse patients. Entrants were tasks with developing a project about how they would advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion in order to help educate patients and protect their vision. Submissions were reviewed by a panel of judges based on their demonstration of creativity, strategic thinking and ethics.
Samiha used spoken word as a catalyst to underline the pillars she feels are most important to increase multicultural efforts in eye care: learning, communication, education and community. Kallisha created an engaging presentation on cultural competence where she explained the existing medical bias in the optical industry and what solutions exist to create a more diverse, inclusive environment. Anil also created a presentation on relevant and tactical steps to better serve a diverse patient base.
“This year’s winners of the Students of Vision scholarship demonstrated an acute understanding of the different risks and eye health needs of the three largest and fastest-growing Black, Indigenous and people of colours (BIPOC) populations in Canada,” said Arnaud Rajchenbach, marketing and sales manager, Transitions Optical Canada. “At Transitions, we’re proud to support young eyecare professionals passionate about individualized and inclusive care.”
“We’re grateful to partner with Transitions Optical to support the next generation of optical professionals in hopes to create a more welcoming and understanding environment for patients from all backgrounds,” said Robert Dalton, Executive Director, OAC. “Congratulations to the scholarship winners and thank you to all who applied, your passion and creativity was certainly impressive!”
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