Applications open for
2017 Students of Vision
scholarship Program
Transitions Optical is partnering with
the Opticians Association of Canada
to support the next generation of eye-
care professionals through the 2017
Students of Vision Scholarship Program.
Currently enrolled opticianry, optometry
and optometric assistant students
from across Canada are all eligible to
apply for the chance to win one of three
prizes of $2,500, $1,500 and $500
scholarships.
Submissions must be sent to Student-
[email protected] by Nov. 1.
Winners will be announced Nov. 10.
To enter the scholarship program,
students must develop a project in the
form of an essay, video or presentation
about ways to communicate the im-
portance of Sun Protection Solutions,
and how they will implement this
into their practice as a future eyecare
professional. A flyer detailing the
scholarship program challenge can be
found at Transitions.com/StudentsofVi-
sion. Submissions will be evaluated by
a panel of judges against the following
criteria: creativity, strategic thinking
and ethics.
The theme of Sun Protection Solutions
was inspired by recent research from
Transitions Optical, which showed that
while Canadians are equally as con-
cerned about protecting their eyes
from the sun’s UV rays as they are their
skin (88 percent each); they are more
likely to take steps to protect their skin
than their eyes. Millennial patients,
specifically, could benefit from
education, as they are the least likely
generation to be concerned with sun
protectionand generally less likely to
see their doctors. The research also
reflected confusion about blue light ,
which is at the forefront of people’s
minds because of the increased use
of digital devices. Most people don’t
know (including 83 percent of millen-
nials) that the sun is the largest singular
source of harmful blue light, scattering
it through theatmosphere and emitting
over 100 times the intensity of
electronic devices and screens.
“Educating consumers on why it is
equally important to take steps to help
protect their eyes as they do with their
skin is a big priority for us, which is
why this year’s topic was chosen,” said
Patience Cook, director, North America
marketing, Transitions Optical.
“We are excited to learn each student’s
approach to how they will think differ-
ently about ways to communicate
with their future patients, especially
the millennial demographic.”
“We are happy to partner with Tran-
sitions Optical again on this program
to encourage students to educate and
inform vision care consumers about
matters related to their eye health,
which is the OAC mission,” said Robert
Dalton, executive director, Opticians
Association of Canada.
“Sun protection is an important topic
in the industry and it’s pivotal that our
eyecare students of today are well-in-
formed on the subject, as they are the
eyecare professionals of the future.
We are looking forward to seeing
their entries.”