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As the first week of classes finished, we asked our second-year bloggers Kashifa, Alek and Bobby to look back on a few lessons they learned in their first year. Here is their letter to the class of 2024. Dear Class of 2024, Before anything, congratulations on making it here! You are all bright passionate people. Remember to give yourself credit where it’s due! In optometry school, you can sometimes get lost in the whirlwind of things. Here are a few things that we learned during out first year. We hope it helps you. Schedule your day and stick to it. This piece of advice was given to me by Dr. Z during my orientation! I believe this is the key to being productive and efficient as an optometry student. Every minute is valuable when you are in optometry school. Scheduling your day to include time for studying, eating, taking breaks, and self-care is very important. I think it really helps prevent burnout especially when you take out time to do things you love outside of school. Studying is bearable when I know that I’ll get to take a 30-minute break to watch a show in an hour. I am also most productive when I schedule my day by the hour and write down the most important tasks for the day. I love the satisfaction when I cross off items that I have completed at the end of the day! If you want to learn more, check out my blog post for tips on how I effectively schedule, and some other study tips. - Kashifa Be open to learn from those around you. You’re about to spend the next four years with some of the brightest minds in the nation from classmates to ICO faculty and staff. When you first arrive, it can be easy to close yourself off and stay in your comfort zone. This was definitely the case for me when I arrived. As an introvert, I’ve always found it hard to put myself out there. However, I quickly came to the realization that this mentality was doing a disservice to myself. I started taking small steps towards socializing with the people around me and getting involved with more activities at school. I’ve been astonished by the breadth of knowledge and the varying experiences the individuals at this school carry. Many have become personal inspirations and people that have made me re-evaluate certain aspects of my own life. So, whether you personally identify as an extrovert or an introvert, make the effort to put yourself out there and be open to learning from others in this community. Get to know some people on campus, check out my blog post about Larry and Jackie. - Alek Remember to put yourself first. Prioritize your health as much as school. This means both physical and mental health. Work out, meditate, sleep a bit more, anything that adds to your health. Let yourself be alone and find out for yourself if you’re bothered by something. If you are unhappy, trust yourself to handle the situation. This goes for school/class or life in general. You’re smarter than you think. Another person’s success is not your failure. It can be easy to get lost in grades and numbers but remember you’ll be a doctor whether you had As, Bs, or Cs. Your patients won’t ask you about your GPA. They’d rather have loving doctors who genuinely care for their eye health. Learning to embrace change was a big part of my journey as a 1st-year optometry student. Trust that what you’re doing is taking you in the right direction. - Bobby We are so looking forward to meeting each and every one of you! Kashifa, Alek, and Bobby

In July, Dr. Stephanie Messner was named Chair of the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education. ICO's President, Dr. Mark Colip, congratulated Dr. Messner's distinguished service and described the accomplishment by saying, "Serving as chair of ACOE is a herculean job under normal conditions. To serve the profession in this role during a pandemic is... remarkable!" We asked Dr. Messner to share how she views the new role and what challenges she anticipates moving forward. What are you looking forward to as Chair of ACOE? I have been on the Council since 2013 and served as Vice Chair last year. But the role of Chair carries more responsibility, including more interaction with the AOA, so I am looking forward to taking that on. I enjoy serving on ACOE because it is fun to work with a group of really smart people who engage in high level, intellectual discussions about quality optometric education. What made you want to pursue the chair position? I didn’t really pursue the position – it pursued me!  With that said, I am honored to take the reins of an optometric organization at the national level. I believe it is an important way for me to serve my profession. What is one thing that ICO has taught you that you will bring to this new chair position. I have learned many things from my 35 years at ICO, but perhaps the one that is most applicable to the ACOE role is how to be flexible. I have learned there may be more than one good way to approach a situation, and that is an important principle within ACOE culture. The Council is not prescriptive to programs and encourages their creativity. What do you see as the biggest challenges in taking on the role of ACOE Chair? As with everything these days, the pandemic has impacted operations of the Council.  Much of our work involves site visits to both optometry degree and residency programs, so we have had to cancel all of our visits since March and to become creative with other means of program monitoring. In addition, we have to develop policy, in alignment with the USDE, to provide guidance to our accredited programs regarding flexibilities that are permitted due to COVID interruptions. I anticipate that this will be ongoing for some time. . . Another major challenge is that Joyce Urbeck, ACOE’s long-time Director retired in July. Joyce holds a wealth of institutional knowledge regarding all aspects of ACOE; her departure leaves a big void. So it will be challenging to serve as Chair at a time when a new Director takes over. Fortunately, we have an excellent group of ACOE staff and they will keep us moving in the right direction. Thank you Dr. Messner for your continued service to the field of optometry! More About Dr. Messner: Dr. Stephanie Messner currently serves as Vice President for Academic Affairs/Dean at the Illinois College of Optometry. She is a graduate of the Pennsylvania College of Optometry where she also completed a residency in Primary Eye Care. She joined the ICO faculty in 1985 and has held a variety of teaching and administrative positions during her tenure at the institution. Dr. Messner is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry and Diplomate of the American Board of Optometry. Currently, she serves as Chair of the Accreditation Council on Optometric Education and has chaired the Residency, Planning, and Professional Development Committees for ACOE. She has been an active volunteer within ASCO, and currently chairs the OAT Committee in addition to her work on the Leadership Development Task Force. She is a past member of the Illinois Optometry Licensing and Disciplinary Board and current member of the Greater Chicago Interprofessional Education Consortium Steering Committee.

In less than a week, our newest members of the ICO community will drag suitcases and boxes upon boxes of amazon packages into apartments across Chicago and into the RC. We couldn’t miss the chance to welcome you to both Chicago and the RC. We really believe you’ll come to love this city just as much as we do. Of course, we couldn’t welcome you without highlighting a few of our favorite spots. Check out our pictures throughout the post! Warm ICO Welcomes "We are so happy to have you join the ICO Family Class of 2024! Work hard & enjoy the ride!" - Brittney M. Brady, O.D., Clinical Instructor, Assistant Professor in Optometry "You have worked hard, you EARNED your spot in this class, now take a moment to pat yourself on the back, cause the next four years will be the hardest of your academic career. CONGRATS on joining the ICO Class of 2024!!" - Vince Brandys, Senior Director of Development and External Affairs, OD ‘90 "Welcome to ICO. For the next 4 years: Enjoy every moment, say yes to every opportunity, remember that perfect is boring, and soak in the knowledge, wisdom and love that makes ICO a special place. So happy to have you as part of the family." - Dr. Valerie Kattouf, Associate Professor; Chief, Pediatrics/Binocular Vision Service "Welcome Class of 2024! Your time at ICO will be a challenging, but an equally rewarding experience. The ICO community is here to help you every step of the way!" - Dr. Stephanie Adams, Assistant Professor, teaching first year Human Anatomy Lab Favorite Spot #1: Beth Karmis’s, Assistant Dean for Student Success, favorite fair weather off campus 'zen' space is the 31st Street Beach. You almost forget you're in the city, but you still have a priceless view. Favorite Spot #2: Vince Brandys, Senior Director of Development and External Affairs, OD ‘90 loves chomping down on Ricobene’s Famous Breaded Steak Sandwich at 252 W 26th St, Chicago. Sage Advice "Focus on your strengths and you will find success here." - Lindsay Sicks, Assistant Professor; Optometric Practice Curriculum Coordinator "As you move in and get settled, just remember that great growth can come from being out of your comfort zone. And if you need to just talk, please stop by my office. I love getting to know you." - Beth Karmis, Assistant Dean for Student Success "Study hard, but don’t forget about self-care. Carve out a little time each day to engage in whatever activity helps you to de-stress. Afterwards, you’ll be better prepared to hit those books!" - Stephanie Messner, Vice President and Dean for Academic Affairs Favorite Spot #3: Patricia Salazar, O.D. loves taking a boat ride out to Lake Michigan at sunset and take in the beautiful cityscape! Favorite Spot #4: Brittney M. Brady's, O.D. favorite thing to do in Chicago is enjoy the scenery on the Riverwalk. Lindsay Sicks, Assistant Professor; Optometric Practice Curriculum Coordinator turned to Ella Fitzgerald for inspiration: “Just don’t give up trying to do what you really want to do. Where there is love and inspiration, I don’t think you can go wrong.” While Darlene G. Ward, Assistant Library Director, offered this quote from Germany Kent: “The single most important thing you need to do in your life to have the future life that you want is what should be keeping you busy at this point in your life.” Favorite Spot #5: One of Beth Karmis’s, Assistant Dean for Student Success favorite places to have lunch in Bridgeport is Gio's Cafe / Deli on 28th and Lowe. It is a mish-mash of grocery store, deli, and cafe. Great food. Take a look at Check Please. Things that we love about ICO and hope you will too "My favorite thing about ICO is all the smiling faces no matter where you are in the building!" - Brittney M. Brady, O.D., Clinical Instructor, Assistant Professor in Optometry "Best eye clinic in the state of IL!" - Vince Brandys, Senior Director of Development and External Affairs, OD ‘90 "What I most love about ICO is the sense of community we have. We're all working toward the same goal - to 'make' the world's greatest optometrists." 🙂 - Beth Karmis, Assistant Dean for Student Success Welcome class of 2024, as you can tell, we are excited to have you hear!

In a little over eight years, Dr. Mothersbaugh has gone from ICO student to resident to assistant professor to Dean of Student Affairs. It's little wonder that ASCO named him their rising star of 2020. We sat down to get to know our young and ambitious Dean of Student Affairs a little better. Dr. Mothersbaugh, these last eight years must have been quite a whirlwind for you. Tell us a little bit about what motivated you to pursue the Dean of Students role. Yeah, it seems that often I find myself pivoting from one role to the other. Early on in my life, I wanted to be a teacher, but there was something about optometry that always drew me. The idea of being able to help others -- to leverage my expertise and gain the respect of a community appealed to me. I also believe that sight is the most powerful sense. I love that I get to be part of giving people vision. It didn’t take me long into optometry school to realize how much teaching was a part of who I am. The faculty members all around me inspired me: they practiced optometry, they participated in high-level medical cases (ICO sees some of the rarest and most difficult cases of any optometry school), and they were able to help develop incoming optometrists who would lead the practice into the future. After my first five years as a faculty member, I realized the most enjoyable part of my day was when I was interacting with students. So, I pivoted again. Now every day is dedicated to promoting the future of a profession I love by connecting with potential and current students. When you attended ICO, you were the first-year class representative. So perhaps it's only natural that you ended up as Dean of Student Affairs. It's interesting, a lot people ask me "Why ICO?" And for me, I don't have one specific story, but instead it's a combination of the many feelings I felt stepping on to ICO's campus. Although I was never involved in student government in high school or during my undergrad, I really felt at home at ICO and wanted to be part of its progress forward from the very beginning. The need to be an instrumental part of creating the culture at ICO is one reason why I took on the role of Dean of Student Affairs. I'm a bit of an idealist by nature. I want to pay forward not just the quality experience I had but make sure that we are constantly improving. Ultimately, I want every student to have an even better experience than last year's graduates. I'm a bit of an idealist by nature. I want to pay forward not just the quality experience I had but make sure that we are constantly improving. Ultimately, I want every student to have an even better experience than last year's graduates. What inspires you about your job? There are two things that get me really motivated. The first is when I take an eagle's eye view of the profession and I see how far we have come today. Optometry has a long history as a legislative profession. We started off with very few rights in terms of what we were allowed to do. Since then, optometry has consistently expanded its scope. When I see students who are entering this profession, I see a lot of excitement to continue that trajectory. They won't let it stay stagnant. They are constantly innovating the profession. It’s not just about learning the facts anymore. I am inspired to see students leaning into the options that modern technology is offering us. There are amazing devices in AI that are going to fundamentally change how we practice. The other is perhaps the opposite of what I mentioned above. I am super excited when I see students problem solve creatively. When students can look at journal articles or other new advances in equipment, and critically gauge these options with a healthy level of skepticism, I feel proud. If they are always asking is this really a good thing for patients, then I’m happy. Let's shift gears a little... Let's get to know you a little better... Who beyond the optometry field inspires you? The top person is absolutely Brene Brown. I've been following her for over a decade now -- all the way back to her first viral TED talk. I have read every single one of her books and her books have been an essential cornerstone which has helped me work through some of my own issues. They have helped get me to where I am today. Daring Greatly has especially appealed to me which builds off of Teddy Roosevelt's quote: The one outside looking in does not get to make all the critiques. Instead, " The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena... who actually strives to do the deeds;… who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.” And that fundamentally is who I want to be. Even if you come up short 9 times out of 10. You're still in it. You're still trying to make a change. What's one thing most people don't know about you? I'm going to be honest, I try to be an open-book and happily let students know me beyond my role as Dean of Student Affairs. I think perhaps one thing that not everyone knows about me and my background is that I was the first person in my family to graduate college. My mom was the high school valedictorian whose family just couldn't afford to pay for her college. My dad, was drafted and did get some schooling through the GI bill, but ultimately had to leave due to finances. They worked their tails off to make sure I could get an education. To then have a doctor in their family... I think it means a lot to them. I acknowledge many parts of my story have allowed me to have a more privileged upbringing than others. I also know that my parents work ethic is part of what motivated me to become a doctor. What has been the best and worst thing about quarantine for you? These last few months, I have really missed being able to connect with students one-on-one. When students feel upset or anxious, I want to be 100% there for them and even on my best days, when I have to rely on a screen for all of my communications, I feel like I can only be 90% there for them. The best thing has definitely been trying out living with my girlfriend. Quarantine accelerated our timeline, but it has been really fun. Plus, we're raising an adorable puppy! What could be better? Thanks Dr. Mothersbaugh for providing us a little peak into your life. It's been great fun!

On July 1, 2020, we welcomed 10 new residents to the Illinois Eye Institute. For some, they are first-timers in the Eye Institute, for others, it was like “returning home”, as one resident said. Our residents geared up with their face masks and ready for whatever will come next. We welcomed this month five residents in primary care and ocular disease, two in pediatrics/binocular vision, two in low vision, and one in cornea and contact lenses. Independent of their chosen field, all came to deepen their understanding of optometry and to become specialists ready to take on the most complex of medical cases and to set themselves apart after a year of intense training. MEET OUR ON-CAMPUS RESIDENTS Christina Nguyen (ICO), Kelly Cohen (Salus) Binocular Vision and Pediatric Optometry Residency Kyle Martin (Ohio) Cornea and Contact Lens Residency Arnoldo Trevino (Houston), Katie Walker (NECO) Low Vision Rehabilitation and Geriatric Ocular Disease Residency Megan Byer (NOVA), Nora Kuby (ICO), Pedram Pourhosseini (ICO), Maria-Alessandra Roa (ICO), and Negar Sohbati (ICO) Primary Eye Care and Ocular Disease Residency But, beyond their specialties, who are they really? Dr. McLeod put together a few questions we thought we’d share: FOOD First they love to eat: They’ll happily eat Thai, Mediterranean, Italian, vegan/vegetarian, Mexican, Chinese or make their way to Little Goat Diner. Other responses to favorite cuisines included: “I live for good Indian food (the spicier the better), I also like good Mexican home cooking, and Pizza!" “Anything Italian. Essentially anything with bread." “Sushi, BBQ, mango smoothies (not at the same time)" “ I’m not picky but I’m always in the mood for Thai or Mexican! " ENTERTAINMENT It seems that nearly half binge watched (and would recommend binge watching) Dead to Me during quarantine. And one resident, well they were in the US far away from their family so they have quite a few TV shows to recommend: "Money Heist Imposters Love Island UK Season 5 Dear white people Selling Sunset Dead to me … I’m just going to stop here – even though there is more, I was stuck in the States with nothing better to do other than refresh my Visa update page!!!” Other responses to favorite TV Shows included: “The Office (at all times even before COVID!)" “I rewatched Avatar: The Last Airbender and it’s still fantastic." Dr. Colip conversing with recent ICO grads (and now residents!) Dr. Nora Kuby and Dr. Negar Sohbati. COVID LIFESTYLE Quarantine has been strange and hard for many of us. For our residents it meant boredom, time and dates losing all meaning, missing important milestones and even being isolated in a different country. But it also meant it gave them time to restart meditating and yoga, time to snuggle with their beloved Boston terrier and time to FINALLY go through the closet and donate…. many shoes! It also gave them an opportunity to: “Become more organized and take on tasks that they had been putting off." “Not do their hair every day!" “Cook, watch movies, and paint." And very important: "Wear pajamas 24/7!" Four of them are snoozers, two of them wake up immediately, one always manages to wake up 5-10 minutes before any alarm. Two prefer to set several alarms rather than snooze. They come from Arizona, Ohio, Florida and many more places. Wherever they come from, and whether they are recent grads or new to ICO, we are super excited to welcome them! SPECIAL SHOUT-OUT To our outgoing residents, we heard from your residency coordinators how well you have adapted to these new difficult circumstances and what a pleasure it was to work with each of you. We wish you the very best going forward. We are sure each of you will do unbelievably well in all of your future endeavors. Cheers to our residents both old and new! To our residents going out: It has been a pleasure to work with you. To our residents coming in: We are excited to see what this year will bring. A special shout out to all of the residents off-campus: Off-Campus Residencies Noelle Bock (Ketchum) Residency in Anterior Segment Disease and Medical Contact Lenses, Davis Duehr Dean Julia Osowski (ICO) Cornea and Refractive Eye Care, Minnesota Eye Consultants Lucas W. Schmidt (ICO) Ocular Disease Residency, Associated Eye Care Grace Amsler (Indiana), Jacob Conditt (SCO), Jessica Burtner-Islam (MCPHS) Ocular Disease and Low Vision Rehabilitation Residency, Jesse Brown VAMC/ Hines VA Hospital Kristen Nordby (Indiana) OD Residency in Refractive and Ocular Surgery Care, Vance Thompson Vision Gabriella Finger (UAB), Kenny Fritz Jr. (ICO) Primary Care and Ocular Disease Residency, Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center Joshua Falk (Western), Megan Horter (Midwestern) Primary Care/Brain Injury and Low Vision Rehabilitation Residency, Minnesota VA

The following students achieved superior academic performance in the Winter 2019 quarter by earning a quarterly GPA of 3.50 or better and no grade below a B or H (honors) in all third- and fourth-year patient care courses: Class of 2020 Ali, Ekram Arackal, Noel Avery, Karleigh Avgoulas, Nicole Ballew, Nina Bannon, Michael Beachnau, Alexandra Brown, Haley Brown, Marisa Buckley, Brianna Bultsma, Alicia Caister, Liesl Chen, Katherine Chen, Yen-Chu Cho, Elizabeth Cwikla, Kathleen Do, Andy Farmah, Rahul Gerchman, Brenna Gil, Monika Gill, Hargun Gill, Jasmin Golon, Stephanie Guo, Emily Han, Alice Ho, Viginia Hobi, Dana Jakupovic, Amela Kan, Elaine Khan, Amina Khoja, Ali Kloft, Sara Kravatz, Natalya Kyi, Lhamo Mangahas, Frances Marshall, Elizabeth Mascarenhas, Brittany Masood, Sunya McCoy, Ashley Miyoshi, William Mize, Jesse Munro, Jessica Nguyen, Christina Nikolova, Galina Onallah, Sabreen Pappas, Gregory Patel, Arpit Patel, Shrey Patel, Tanvi Patel, Vrajika Pavletic, Gabriela Phan, Thu Pourhosseini, Pedram Purewal, Avneet Raichura, Anjali Ralph, Angie Rodriguez, Ismael Runco, Julia Salem, Maysoon Seedat, Sawliha Shaikh, Momina Sher, Julianna Shneur, Fenella Sohbati, Negar Spencer, Jasmine Stein, Rebecca Steinhauser, William Stevens, Kelsie Teixeira, Rae Veverka, Eric Wang, Helen Williams, Megan Wingard, Barrett Yates, Ashleigh Yee, William Young, Kyle Kuby, Nora Kunkel, Lauren Mathews, Haley Motacek, Aaron Roa, Maria-Alessandra Rohan, Amelia Vourvopoulos, Elena Class of 2021 Abusharekh, Samiha Bricker, Julie Bruegman, Lexye Caceres, Melissa Chaudhry, Aysha Chawla, Natasha Cordoba, Claire N Collins, Thomas Deutsch, Dustin Dhanoa, Gurleen Fazio, Kimberly Fitzgerald, Kelsey Go, Jason Goodman, Chelsea Hall, Allyson Hanacek, Daniel Hans, Navneet Henkel, Ashley Hinson, Benjamin Hulet, Zachery Hulisz, Adam Ico, Amanda Ishtiaq, Alina Jain, Smriti Jennings, Kelsey Kamil, Christie Kaur, Amandeep Kim, Grace Laden, Chelsea Lalonde, Nikkie Lancaster, Alyssa Larson, Jessica Lenhart, Kasey Leysen, Avery Li, Brian Li, Jasmine Lim, Jessica Marogy, Renee Metoxen, Mariah Michalicek, Benjamin Moussawel, Nabil Nichols, Olivia Norris, Abigail Okakpu, Valerie Patel, Alesha Percival, Anna Perez, Janette Prodan, Luiza Rancic, Jake Rocken, Claire Saleh, Faqar Schaefer, Kalyn Shin, Ed Siddiqui, Fareesa Skoog, William Skorseth, Claire Smith, Erica Smith, Lindsey Sykora, Kelsey Tran, Tam Tritsch, Erica Ward, Carley Wedel, Todd Class of 2022 Abbott, Sarah Ali, Sarah Ali, Zahra Aujla, Balpreet Bade, Bjorn Bartczak, Tanner Bergman, Nicole Boente, Bryce Boycott, Jessie Cao, Jiamin Cardenas, Angelica Chramiec, Natalia Gilbertson, Jena Grewal, Randeep Ha, Vianna Hanna, Nicole Hong, Clara Huynh, Melissa Koss, Stephanie Krisa, Sydney Langer, Weleed Lee, Soo Jung Liu, Xiang Jun Mills, Shalynn Moua, Chi Na Neher, Frederick Nguyen, Jenny Niziol, Paulina Patel, Kosha Polk, Natalie Pratt, Christian Raziuddin, Sophia Robison, William Rodriguez, Maria Schaefer, Steven Schuchardt, Madeleine Shahid, Alina Sun, Lirong Teragawa, Sydney Vivacqua, Lisa Wadowska, Maria Wallace, Whitney Class of 2023 Al-Khazraji, Sayf Ansari, Kashifa Bainbridge, Chloe Bhatt, Vrunda Blackett, Kevin Jedlinski, Lauren Jiang, Lai Karra Aly, Sarah Karthikeyan, Alek Lewis, Emika McGowan, Ryan Patel, Riddhi Peterson, Austin Purewal, Prabhdeep Rockne, Lucas Shackelford, Rachel Shah, Ria Signa, Anthony Sosalla, Brooke Struss, Morley Yang, Grace Yu, Sheng

ICO upholds strong relationships with many academic and medical institutions in the Chicago area. One of these partnerships was seen in full effect on Sunday, January 26, when ICO hosted the inaugural Retina 20/20 Continuing Education Symposium. This innovative event was a collaboration with the University of Chicago. Approximately 325 doctors attended Retina 20/20 to earn 6 hours of CE credit. Throughout the day, OD and MD pairs presented lectures and case studies on vitreoretinal disorders. Dr. Larry Van Daalen, one of the attendees, called the content "very current." He felt it was "excellent that [we were] able to combine the best of ICO with University of Chicago doctors." ICO President Dr. Mark Colip was particularly impressed with the College's efforts. He writes, "Thanks to the efforts of many, ICO was able to collaborate with the University of Chicago Department of Ophthalmology and offer world-class CE... The planning and logistics of such a program are extensive. Many thanks to Dr. Len Messner and team, with special thanks to Elizabeth Grantner, the entire team of speakers, and folks pitching in to welcome our guests and participants." We hope to host even more unique collaborations and CE courses in the future. If there is an educational topic you would find enriching, or if you have any questions regarding Retina 20/20, please reach out to Elizabeth Grantner.

The following students achieved superior academic performance in the Fall 2019 quarter by earning a quarterly GPA of 3.50 or better and no grade below a B or H (honors) in all third- and fourth-year patient care courses: Class of 2020 Ali, Ekram Avery, Karleigh Avgoulas, Nicole Baiju, Blessy Bana, Arsalah Beachnau, Alexandra Biskupiak, Angie Brown, Haley Brown, Marisa Buckley, Brianna Bultsma, Alicia Chu, Kai Coleman, Katie Cwikla, Kathleen Dang, Binh DeRubeis, Jenna D'Haiti, Sabrina Do, Andy Dodda, Samantha Eisel, Ryan Eshak, Christine Felger, Zachary Fritz, Kenny Gibson, Kaitlyn Gill, Jasmin Grey, Elizabeth Han, Alice Ho, Viginia Hobi, Dana Hussain, Afra Iyaz, Faaizah Jakupovic, Amela Jeong, Jeffrey Kan, Elaine Khalid, Zahra Khan, Amina Kleman, Michelle Kloft, Sara Kunkel, Lauren Kyi, Lhamo Langel, Jordan Marshall, Elizabeth Mathews, Haley McCoy, Ashley McDaniel, Taryn Ng, Justin Nguyen, Christina Nikolova, Galina Onallah, Sabreen Patel, Arpit Patel, Deeti Patel, Kavita Patel, Shrey Patel, Tanvi Pavletic, Gabriela Pham, Kimly Raichura, Anjali Ralph, Angie Roa, Maria-Alessandra Rodriguez, Ismael Runco, Julia Salem, Maysoon Sarkisian, Patricia Schmidt, Lucas Shaikh, Momina Sher, Julianna Shneur, Fenella Sohbati, Negar Sostaric, Marina Spencer, Jasmine Stein, Rebecca Stevens, Kelsie Stubbs, Aidan Suriano, Joseph Teixeira, Rae Thakker, Vrajika Tran, Tracy Vang, Muychi Wang, Helen Wingard, Barrett Worb, Andrew Yee, William Young, Kyle Vourvopoulos, Elena Zahm, Sarah Class of 2021 Abusharekh, Samiha Bricker, Julie Bruegman, Lexye Caceres, Melissa Chaudhry, Aysha Chawla, Natasha Collins, Thomas Cordoba, Claire Deutsch, Dustin Dhanoa, Gurleen Fazio, Kimberly Files, Owen Hall, Allyson Hanacek, Daniel Hans, Navneet Henkel, Ashley Hinson, Benjamin Jain, Smriti Jennings, Kelsey Kamil, Christie Kaur, Amandeep Kim, Grace S Laden, Chelsea Lancaster, Alyssa Lalonde, Nikkie Larson, Jessica Lenhart, Kasey Li, Jasmine Marogy, Renee Michalicek, Benjamin Nichols, Olivia Norris, Abigail Okakpu, Valerie Patel, Alesha Perez, Janette Rancic, Jake Rocken, Claire Saleh, Faqar Siddiqui, Fareesa Skoog, William Skorseth, Claire Smith, Erica Smith, Lindsey Sykora, Kelsey Tritsch, Erica Ward, Carley Class of 2022 Abbott, Sarah Albin, Matthew Ali, Sarah Ali, Zahra Askar, Zacharia Bade, Bjorn Bartczak, Tanner Bergman, Nicole Cao, Jiamin Gibbs, Kaitlin Gilbertson, Jena Grewal, Randeep Ha, Vianna Hanna, Nicole Heraiz, Claudia Hong, Clara Huynh, Bobby Koss, Stephanie Krisa, Sydney Langer, Weleed Large, Mackenzie Liu, Xiang Jun Lee, Soo Jung Mills, Shalynn Morier-Roy, Maxime Moua, Chi Na Neher, Frederick Patel, Kosha Polk, Natalie Pratt, Christian Raziuddin, Sophia Robbs, Connor Robison, William Rodriguez, Maria Schaefer, Steven Schuchardt, Madeleine Shahid, Alina Shim, Rachel Sun, Lirong Thorp, Blaine Vivacqua, Lisa Vizza, Juliana Wallace, Whitney Class of 2023 Al-Khazraji, Sayf Bainbridge, Chloe Bhatt, Vrunda Blackett, Kevin Eros, Paul Hernandez, Christian Jaitly, Mansi Jedlinski, Lauren Jiang, Lai Karra Aly, Sarah Karthikeyan, Alek Lewis, Emika McGowan, Ryan Meyette, Benjamin Peterson, Austin Rockne, Lucas Rola, Jacqueline Shackelford, Rachel Shah, Ria Signa, Anthony Sosalla, Brooke Struss, Morley Tank, Shivani Tjoe-A-Long, Faith Wong, Alexander Yang, Grace Yu, Sheng Zaidi, Yumna

Last week, ICO students, faculty, and staff traveled to Orlando, Florida for the 2019 American Academy of Optometry convention and the 3rd World Congress of Optometry. This conference is one of the largest events in the profession, and ICO was represented in a big way! Many ICO students and residents earned travel grants before departure: VSP Global Travel Grants: Scott Hansen, Ashleigh Yates, Will Skoog, and Victoria Johnson AAOF Student Giving Matching Travel Grants: Alexandra Beachnau and Randi-Jo Francis AAO Illinois State Chapter Travel Grant: Michelle Kleman ICO Dean's Office Travel Grants: Alice Han and Lhamo Kyi Allergan Resident Travel Fellowships: Drs. Nicole Harris, Abigail Strauss, Jessica Jankiewicz, and Madison Goodfellow Cornea, Contact Lenses, and Refractive Tech Resident Travel Fellowships: Drs. Thanhan Nguyen and Joseph Isik At the conference, ICO presented over 30 research posters on a wide variety of topics. Dr. Kelly Frantz gave lectures on advanced strabismus and binocular disorders. Drs. Elyse Chaglasian and Katherine Lynch hosted an educational breakfast for externship preceptors. It was so well-received that attendees were buzzing about it on Twitter. Aaron Motacek, '20, and Lauren Kunkel, '20, received Practice Excellence Scholarships from the AAOF. Connor Robbs, '22, won the 2019 J. Pat Cummings Scholarship. Student-oriented events continued all weekend, including the Essilor Academic Challenge, where Helen Wang, Alice Han, and Alex Beachnau represented ICO alongside their coach, Dr. Raman Bhakri, and judge Dr. Geoffrey Goodfellow. Another portion of the conference that brought the ICO family together was our Alumni and Friends Reception, held on Friday, Oct. 25. More than 200 people attended. Highlighting the evening was a special program honoring Dr. Janice Jurkus. When she took the podium, Dr. Jurkus asked how many in the crowd had been her students. The majority of attendees raised their hands. Academy is a massive event for the profession of optometry. There are certainly more stories from this exciting conference to be told. If you have a highlight from Academy 2019 to share, please send it to communications@ico.edu. Your story may appear in ICO’s alumni magazine or newsletter.

The Illinois Optometric Association's 2019 convention was held in Itasca, IL. ICO students, faculty, and staff attended in abundance to represent our institution. This event is becoming increasingly popular with students. Over 100 aspiring ODs from multiple schools were treated to a separate educational track of programming. Topics for students included patient communication, practice management, and leadership. Regarding the upcoming year, IOA Executive Director Leann Vanausdoll noted that telemedicine is a key area of attention for the profession in 2019 and beyond. Attendees enjoyed two nights of live music performances, including an all-optometrist rock band. Additional ICO highlights: Matt Jones, OD ’08, became IOA President-Elect. He will succeed Dr. Tina Funk. Mark Burke, OD ’10, was honored as Young Optometrist of the Year. Al Hein, OD ’87, was named the Tom Lawless Keyperson of the Year. D. R. Gordon, OD ’71, received the President’s Award. Thank you to all members of the ICO family who attend events like these. Your participation keeps the optometry advancing forward and assures that ICO it at the forefront of the profession!

The following students achieved superior academic performance in the Summer 2019 quarter by earning a quarterly GPA of 3.50 or better and no grade below a B or H (honors) in all third- and fourth-year patient care courses: Class of 2020 Ali, Ekram Avery, Karleigh Ballew, Nina Bana, Arsalah Beachnau, Alexandra Biskupiak, Angie Buckley, Brianna Bultsma, Alicia Butala, Praksha Caister, Liesl Chen, Yen-Chu Cho, Elizabeth Cwikla, Kathleen DeRubeis, Jenna D'Haiti, Sabrina Do, Andy Eshak, Christine Farmah, Rahul Felger, Zachary Fritz, Kenny Gibson, Kaitlyn Gill, Hargun Golon, Stephanie Grey, Elizabeth Guo, Emily Ho, Viginia Hobi, Dana Iyaz, Faaizah Jakupovic, Amela Kan, Elaine Khalid, Zahra Khoja, Ali Kleman, Michelle Kloft, Sara Kuby, Nora Kunkel, Lauren Lazarz, Iwona Lee, Alicia Marshall, Elizabeth Masood, Sunya Mathews, Haley Miyoshi, William Mize, Jesse L Munro, Jessica Ng, Justin Onallah, Sabreen Osowski, Julia Pappas, Gregory Patel, Arpit Patel, Deeti Patel, Kavita Patel, Tanvi Pavletic, Gabriela Pham, Kimly Pourhosseini, Pedram Purewal, Avneet Rohan, Amelia Salem, Maysoon Seedat, Sawliha Shaikh, Momina Skowron, Michelle Sohbati, Negar Sostaric, Marina Spencer, Jasmine Stein, Rebecca Steinhauser, William Stevens, Kelsie Stubbs, Aidan Suriano, Joseph Teixeira, Rae Thakker, Vrajika Tran, Tracy L Vang, Muychi Veverka, Eric Vourvopoulos, Elena Wang, Helen Williams, Megan Wingard, Barrett Yee, William Young, Kyle Zahm, Sarah Class of 2021 Abusharekh, Samiha Bruegman, Lexye Caceres, Melissa Calderon, Elia Chawla, Natasha Collins, Thomas Deutsch, Dustin Fazio, Kimberly Files, Owen Fitzgerald, Kelsey Goodman, Chelsea Hall, Allyson Hans, Navneet Henkel, Ashley Hinson, Benjamin Jain, Smriti Jennings, Kelsey Kamil, Christie Kaur, Amandeep Kim, Grace Korsak, David Lalonde, Nikkie Lancaster, Alyssa Larson, Jessica Lenhart, Kasey Li, Jasmine Marogy, Renee Nichols, Olivia Okakpu, Valerie Patel, Alesha Rancic, Jake Saleh, Faqar Siddiqui, Fareesa Skoog, William Skorseth, Claire Smith, Lindsey Sykora, Kelsey Tritsch, Erica Ward, Carley Class of 2022 Aguilar, Lauren Beigel, Eric Huynh, Melissa Koss, Stephanie Lee, Soo Jung Moua, Chi Na Neher, Frederick Pratt, Christian Raziuddin, Sophia Robbs, Connor Robison, William Schaefer, Steven

On August 22, 2019, the American Optometric Association held a Board Meeting on the Illinois College of Optometry campus. ICO was the first-ever optometry school chosen for this honor. In addition to the formal meeting, the AOA’s agenda included a tour, student lunch, and a presentation on practice management. Pictured above with ICO President Dr. Mark Colip, AOA Board Members in attendance included: Barbara Horn, OD, President William Reynolds, OD, President-Elect Robert Layman, OD, Vice President James DeVleming, OD, Secretary-Treasurer Samuel Pierce, OD, Immediate Past President Ronald Benner, OD, Trustee Steven Reed, OD, Trustee Jacqueline Bowen, OD, Trustee Lori Grover, OD, Trustee Teri Geist, OD, Trustee Terri Gossard, OD, Trustee Staff members from the AOA and AOSA were also present. We thank the AOA’s leadership, hope everyone had a rewarding meeting, and look forward to the next visit.