American Optometric Foundation Announces 2009 AOF-Carl Zeiss Vision Fellows

The American Optometric Foundation has announced the 2009 class of AOF-Carl Zeiss Vision Fellows. The class consists of 19 optometry students, one selected from every college of optometry in Canada, Puerto Rico and the U.S.

Sponsored by Carl Zeiss Vision and administered by the AOF, the Fellowships honor outstanding achievement by third-year optometry students. Each Fellowship includes a $5,000 award made directly to the financial aid office at the student’s college to offset the fourth year of optometric education.

“This program is a great source of pride to us at Carl Zeiss Vision,” said Fred Howard, Carl Zeiss Vision’s President, Americas-Pacific. “We are now in our third year, and the community of Fellows is growing. We believe that we have planted a seed that will benefit the profession of Optometry and all of its industry partners.

Each Fellow will also receive a travel grant to attend the American Academy of Optometry annual meetings in their fourth year of study and their first year after graduation. “One of the aims of the program is to encourage the Fellows to get involved with the Academy right away,” said Dr. Anthony J. Adams, President of the American Optometric Foundation. “We believe that the Academy will be important to their future, and vice-versa.”

The 2009 AOF-Carl Zeiss Vision Fellows, and the schools they attend, are:

Nicole A. Henricksen Illinois College of Optometry
Elizabeth J. Roush Indiana University at Bloomington School of Optometry
Danielle Gloster Inter American University of Puerto Rico School of Optometry
Aaron Stewart Michigan College of Optometry at Ferris State University
Yos Priestley New England College of Optometry
Ryan C. Emrick Northeastern State University College of Optometry
Sara J. Henney Nova Southeastern University College of Optometry
Kent Manville Pacific University College of Optometry
Timothy Brown Pennsylvania College of Optometry at Salus University
Christopher Alferez Southern California College of Optometry
Jessica Hollman Ellis Southern College of Optometry
Marc Kenneth Lay State University of New York College of Optometry
Kara Williams The Ohio State University College of Optometry
Steven D. Bowser University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Optometry
Esther Nakagawara University of California at Berkeley School of Optometry
Brian Cox University of Houston College of Optometry
Whitney T. Coleman University of Missouri at St. Louis School of Optometry
Jean-Marie Hanssens University of Montreal School of Optometry
Alex Hui University of Waterloo School of Optometry

“By supporting this outstanding group of Optometry students, we are investing in the future of a profession that is vital to all of us,” said Howard. “We are honored to sponsor this program and further the great work of the American Optometric Foundation,” said Howard. “I look forward to meeting the 2009 Fellows at the Academy meeting in November.”