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Nine UMSL Students Receive Scholarship


Nine students at UMSL Optometry started the spring 2017 semester with a $2,500 scholarship from the Healthy Vision Association (HVA).  The HVA is an organization that is dedicated to helping its members see well and be healthy by providing access that might not be available through employers to products, services, and information that promote vision and overall health.
The scholarship was awarded to Kandace Alfred (’18), Jessica Arnoldy (’20), Shelby Baugh Bruner (’17), Kelly Cochran (’20), Yousef Ibrahim (’17), Cailyn Katsev (’17), Julia Katsev (’18), Trisha Smith (’20), and Lacie Spagnola (’20); each received a check for $2,500.
One of the scholarship recipients, Kelly Cochran (’20), shares her vision of optometry in ten years as part of the essay she was required to write for the scholarship. “I believe the scope of practice for optometrists will involve an evolution toward deepening our involvement in vision research, medicine, surgery, and cooperation with ophthalmologists and basic scientists who are also working toward treating our patients. We must understand that we are servants before we are businesspeople, yet our patients are also consumers,” Cochran commented.
The Healthy Vision Association (HVA) awards up to 20 scholarships each year to students who are attending an accredited optometry school. The scholarship is based on grade point average, extracurricular activities, and a required essay.  Congratulations to each of this year’s recipients of this year’s HVA scholarship. 

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