Hello Blogosphere!
Special summer greetings to you all from Optometry’s Meeting 2014! This has been my first trip to Philadelphia, PA, and it’s not disappointed. My schedule has been packed with meetings, and I’ve enjoyed every moment representing Southern College of Optometry. This was my first OM since transitioning out as SCO’s AOSA Trustee, but I’ve still found a way to add on the extra responsibilities of AOSA National Delegate and National Liaison of the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry to my conference agenda. I also made my first conference speaking debut! The AOA’s President’s Council invited me to speak on a panel to discuss my opinions on how to promote transitioning AOSA membership to state associations and the AOA. I looking forward to many more speaking engagements to come!
Meetings aside, OM never fails to be a fun event…the National Student Bowl, social and networking events, delish hors d’oeuvres, free OD CE, celebrity sightings, awards and comedic performances. Yep, OM is a nonstop blast!
This year I had the added bonus of receiving a travel grant from HOYA to attend OM2014. My digital case report was on HOYA’s SYNC lenses as a therapy to alleviate Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS). My report was one of 23 winning case reports nationally recognized with a travel grant.
And if being in the City of Brotherly Love wasn’t enough, my baby brother joined me for this optometry conference too! Since the lil’ bro is on summer vacation from undergrad, I thought what better way for him to see what his cool big sis does in her daily life than expose him to our little-big world of optometry. And guess what… In the first 30 minutes of his conference experience, my brother had already met all the big SCO, AOA, and AOSA leaders–does this kid not just have a knack for networking or what?!
And let’s not forget the history—oh history–of Philadelphia! In between my packed schedule, I was able to carve out pockets of time to visit Constitution Hall, the Liberty Bell, even the very stair steps that Sylvester Stallone jogged up in his famous “Rocky” scene. Can someone say Da-da-dum, da-da-dum?! What an exhilarating feeling to walk the very cobblestone streets our Founding Fathers strode themselves…maybe a little Ben Franklin wisdom imparted itself on me, I mean he was the inventor of the bifocal after all ;)
I hope you enjoyed some of the photos that captured yet another great Optometry’s Meeting. It was great catching up with my optometry friends and family across the U.S.! Next up Seattle for OM2015…
Carpe Diem,
Amy