2016 Future Leaders of Optometry Award Preston Cup to University of Waterloo School of Optometry - Advancement of Independent Optometry Club (UWAIOC)!
Award presented at the 6th Annual Student Optometric Leadership Network (SOLutioN) Leadership Conference in Denver, CO
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Co-Presidents: Jaclyn Chang and Courtney Fan
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President Elect: Martina Sawatzky
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The Student Optometric Leadership Network (SOLutioN) congratulates University of Waterloo School of Optometry - Advancement of Independent Optometry Club for receiving the 2016 Preston Cup Award. Throughout the academic year, each private-practice club at the colleges of Optometry set up practice management programs for their peers to learn more about what goes into running a successful Optometric business. These educational activities supplement formal academic courses, and the private-practice clubs share their achievements and successes at the annual SOLN meeting sponsored by VSP® Vision Care. The attendees were all inspired from Jaclyn, Courtney, and Martina and their team's work! It was no wonder that the student participants at the SOLutioN leadership conference voted for this team! See for yourself!
From this years winners:
“I was pleasantly surprised to find out that we were this year’s winner of the Preston Cup. Courtney and I founded the club in early 2015 and we spent the last year trying to catch up to everyone else. It’s an amazing feeling to get this recognition from our fellow leaders who have accomplished so much in their own clubs over the past year. We have a great team and we’ve all worked really hard to get everything started. We are so proud to bring the Preston Cup back to Waterloo to continue to inspire students in their pursuit of private practice.
I am truly humbled and honoured to have been part of SOLutioN. I cannot say thank you enough to all of the members, especially to Dana Beards and the Executive Board, for everything they have done for me in terms of both my personal and professional growth. The UWAIOC would not have been able to grow so quickly and have the same calibre of events without SOLutioN. I strongly encourage students and practitioners to get involved in the organization. You’ll be happy you did!”-Jaclyn Chang (OD Candidate, 2018, UWAIOC Co-Founder/Co-President)
Here’s what they’ve been up to over the past year:
The UWAIOC was founded in early 2015 by two optometry students passionate about private practice, Jaclyn Chang and Courtney Fan. In just one year, they have grown from 0 to an astounding 88 members. They have hosted a speaker event with Dr. Justin Bazan, another with Dr. Gary Gimpel from Vision Source, as well as an interactive workshop with Dr. Mile Brujic & Dr. Will To from Optometric Insights. The club also adopted the successful model of other private practice clubs and hosted a “Dining with the Docs” (DWTD) event. DWTD allowed a small group of students to tour an optometry office and have dinner with an optometrist in casual settings throughout the Greater Toronto Area. The UWAIOC’s final End-of-Term Event allowed club members to practice their networking and communication skills in a Speed Networking activity. Aside from events, the club provided membership benefits of a travel grant, raffle prizes, business card holders, and professional headshots. They also worked on building a private practice club library by working with their school’s librarian to bring relevant business books to their students for loan. At the end of the year the Executive Board elected a number of new officers and they look forward to continue bringing great things to Waterloo and SOLutioN!
From this years winners:
“I was pleasantly surprised to find out that we were this year’s winner of the Preston Cup. Courtney and I founded the club in early 2015 and we spent the last year trying to catch up to everyone else. It’s an amazing feeling to get this recognition from our fellow leaders who have accomplished so much in their own clubs over the past year. We have a great team and we’ve all worked really hard to get everything started. We are so proud to bring the Preston Cup back to Waterloo to continue to inspire students in their pursuit of private practice.
I am truly humbled and honoured to have been part of SOLutioN. I cannot say thank you enough to all of the members, especially to Dana Beards and the Executive Board, for everything they have done for me in terms of both my personal and professional growth. The UWAIOC would not have been able to grow so quickly and have the same calibre of events without SOLutioN. I strongly encourage students and practitioners to get involved in the organization. You’ll be happy you did!”-Jaclyn Chang (OD Candidate, 2018, UWAIOC Co-Founder/Co-President)
Here’s what they’ve been up to over the past year:
The UWAIOC was founded in early 2015 by two optometry students passionate about private practice, Jaclyn Chang and Courtney Fan. In just one year, they have grown from 0 to an astounding 88 members. They have hosted a speaker event with Dr. Justin Bazan, another with Dr. Gary Gimpel from Vision Source, as well as an interactive workshop with Dr. Mile Brujic & Dr. Will To from Optometric Insights. The club also adopted the successful model of other private practice clubs and hosted a “Dining with the Docs” (DWTD) event. DWTD allowed a small group of students to tour an optometry office and have dinner with an optometrist in casual settings throughout the Greater Toronto Area. The UWAIOC’s final End-of-Term Event allowed club members to practice their networking and communication skills in a Speed Networking activity. Aside from events, the club provided membership benefits of a travel grant, raffle prizes, business card holders, and professional headshots. They also worked on building a private practice club library by working with their school’s librarian to bring relevant business books to their students for loan. At the end of the year the Executive Board elected a number of new officers and they look forward to continue bringing great things to Waterloo and SOLutioN!
