Fourth year students Steven Perry and Ece Turhal are the 2017 recipients of the VSP/AAO Foundation award.
The American Academy of Optometry Foundation (AAOF), an affiliate of the American Academy of Optometry (AAO), has announced the 2017 Practice Excellence Scholarship recipients. Nearly $200,000 will be distributed amongst 44 top-performing fourth-year optometry students in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Canada.
Two students from each college of optometry were selected as scholarship recipients from nominations submitted by their individual institutions. Since 2000, VSP has provided nearly $2 million in scholarship support to hundreds of optometry students.
The scholarships are funded through VSP Global’s Eyes of Hope® Global Charitable Fund in collaboration with FYi Doctors in Canada (for Canadian recipients) and is administered through the AAOF. Key criteria for selecting the scholarship recipients include the student’s commitment to enter the independent practice of optometry, clinical performance, and academic performance.
The scholarship includes a travel grant to participate in the American Academy of Optometry’s 96th annual meeting at the McCormick Convention Center in Chicago, IL. Recipients were recognized at a special reception on October 12th.