TRANSITIONS OPTICAL AWARDS $500 SCHOLARSHIPS TO OPTOMETRY AND OPTICIANRY STUDENTS
Twelve Winning Entries Demonstrate Creativity and Vision for
Promoting Healthy Sight to Patients
SEATTLE, June 27, 2008 – Through its Transitions® Healthy Sight for Life Fund scholarship program, Transitions Optical, Inc. has awarded twelve $500 scholarships to opticianry and optometry students throughout the U.S. The second annual call for entries inspired students to creatively explore an aspect of healthy sight with entries ranging from educational posters and essays to a music video and a children’s book.

Similar to last year's scholarship initiative, the 2008 program encouraged students to submit projects in any format that demonstrates how they would integrate one aspect of Healthy Sight Counseling – Vision Care, Vision Wear or Education – into everyday practice. Healthy Sight Counseling is a patient-centered, integrated approach to eye care that encourages customized vision correction, maintenance and preventive eye care and increased professional and patient awareness through education.

“The breadth of creativity in the entries received shows the passion the next generation of opticians and optometrists have for healthy sight,” said Carole Bratteig, manager, education and training, Transitions. “We are honored to support these future healthy sight counselors as they take a proactive and integrated approach in delivering quality eye care to patients. The role these students will take professionally can leave a profound impact on the overall eye health of many different generations.”

Scholarship Recipients

Submissions were reviewed by a committee of Transitions representatives, eyecare professionals and communications specialists who selected the following 12 winning entries:

Winning Opticianry Entries
• Brittany Bishop, Baker College – The Importance of Sunglasses – Wrote a presentation on UV and the importance of UV protection.

• Marian Considine, Erie Community College – Healthy Sight Counseling for Baby Boomers – Submitted a presentation on the visual needs of the growing Baby Boomer population and the eyewear options available to address those needs.

• Brenda Lainez, Miami-Dade Community College – Road to Healthy Eyesight – Developed a community service project, which educated on the importance of eye exams and UV protection.

• Carole LoVerso, Erie Community College – The Optician’s Role in Patient Health Care – Created an educational poster on the step-by-step approach to providing overall eye health.

• Zoila Regalado, DeKalb Technical College – No Need to Compromise Your Visual Acuity – Developed a presentation on the role the optician plays in selecting eyewear that addresses issues such as contrast, glare and night vision.

Winning Optometry Entries
• Brian Abert, Southern California College of Optometry – Adventures in Vision – Authored a children’s book featuring a green dinosaur who reinforces healthy vision, the importance of comfortable eyewear and overall eye health.

• Radbert Chin, Ja-Hyung Lee, Anthny Trinh, Cleo Yeh, New England College of Optometry – Every Year – Produced a music video to the original tune of “I’m Yours,” by Jason Mraz, to enforce the importance of yearly eye examinations for pediatric patients and parents.

• Whitney Fahrman, Rachel Irwin, Anna Opydo, New England College of Optometry – Kindergarten Curriculum – Created lesson plans about sun safety for students enrolled in kindergarten, grades 3-4 and 6-8, and sent them to teachers to be integrated into current curriculum.
• Priyal Gadani, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry – Focus on Healthy Sight Counseling – Drafted a paper about the importance of patient-centered care, and discussed methods that optometrists can use to convey the need for annual exams and eye protection.

• Amy Kohen, Pennsylvania College of Optometry – Eye Spy Guide – Wrote an informational quarterly newsletter to be distributed at local schools to reinforce the spread of knowledge about healthy vision to people of all ages – especially children.

• Daljit Srai, The Ohio State University School of Optometry – Reducing Visual Impairment Due to Diabetic Retinopathy – Submitted an essay discussing how he, as a future optometrist, would implement a three-step approach to increase awareness of preventable visual impairment inflicted by diabetic retinopathy.

• Meagan Steg, Nova Southeastern University – Opening Eyes…One Classroom at a Time – Visited a third grade class to raise awareness among students, parents and teachers of the need to protect their eyes and make time for annual eye examinations.

To further highlight the success of the program, the top two opticianry students judged to have the best entries will receive an all-expenses paid trip to the ABO-NCLE National Education Conference in Cincinnati, to present a summary of the projects at the posters session. The winning opticianry and optometry students will also receive recognition on the Transitions Healthy Sight for Life Fund Web site, www.HealthySightforLife.org, where their entries will be featured.