Head of School Professor Fiona Stapleton opened the evening by welcoming the award winners, new graduates, sponsors and, in some cases, family mbers. Regardless of the degree, all new graduates had their degrees conferred at a separate cerony at the UNSW earlier in the day.{{image2-a:r-w:400}}Well-known as the chairperson of the Young Optometrists (YO) group, secretary of Eyes4Everest, and as an Optometry Council mber for Future Health Leaders, Dr Carina Trinh delivered the occasional address.She chose two common clinical abbreviations – OTC and RTC – to offer words of advice to the graduates and award winners:O – be open to new ideas and the opinions of others, especially friends who can mentor you. You should also be open to mentoring othersT – be true to yourself, your ethics, your upbringing, and your viewsC – choose companions wisely. Control your own life, create the life you want and do not base it on the views of othersR – respect others, resist those who try to suppress you or ‘pull rank’, and conversely, rber to not look down on othersT & C – were combined – take care of yourself, as the world is not necessarily a logical or perfect place and avoid adopting a ‘victim’ mind-set when confronting adversity
Trinh was also on hand to present the awards as Head of School Professor Fiona Stapleton announced the winners.
| Post-graduate awards{{image3-a:r-w:300}}{{image4-a:r-w:200}}Dr Lakshmi Boddululuri and Dr Ling Lee shared the Brian Kirby Prize for Research Excellence in Optometry. Judging was based on the thesis examiners’ reports and for this year’s award, the two candidates were judged to have submitted theses of equally high standard. Bodduluri’s thesis centred on vision and type 1 diabetes, while Lee’s focused on genetics and meibomian gland dysfunction.Meanwhile, the Postgraduate Ocular Therapeutics Prize, awarded to the best performed student in the course, was awarded to Dr Anthony James Ireland. |
| Awards to new graduates{{image5-a:r-w:300}}{{image6-a:r-w:300}}A UNSW University Medal was awarded to Dr Jery Chung Bo Chiang who continues a long tradition of optometry graduates receiving the prestigious award, a reflection of the standard of student entering the optometry course at UNSW. Chiang also received the Bachelor of Optometry, Bachelor of Science Program Prize for the best overall weighted average mark (WAM) in the BOptom, BSc program.Dr Yu-Han ‘Henrietta’ Wang received three awards at the event; the Neville Fulthorpe Prize for the best performance in Stage 5 of Clinical Optometry 5A and 5B as well as the Designs for Vision Prize for the best performance in Primary Care Optometry throughout the BOptom, BSc program. In addition she shared the Stage 5 Research Project Prize for the best overall mark in a final year research project with Dr Donna Fang.{{image7-a:r-w:300}}{{image8-a:r-w:300}}The Dr Andrew Whatham Prize, eponymously named after the widely respected researcher and clinician who, before his passing, worked at the Centre for Eye Health (CFEH), is based on a student’s performance while on a clinical rotation at the CFEH. This year the award was presented to Dr Larissa Tran, while the Leonard Fine/ Luxottica Prize for the best performance in Stage 5 Ocular Therapeutics went to Dr Annee Arunee Yogarajah.The Australasian College of Behavioural Optometrists Prize for the best overall performance throughout the BOptom, BSc program in Binocular and Children’s Vision went to Dr Chantelle Louise Payne.The Susan Larter Vision Trust Prize, awarded to the final year or postgraduate student who has achieved clinical excellence, and contributed to the practice and knowledge of behavioural/ neuro-developmental optometry, went to Dr Martin Quan Diep. |
Awards to undergraduates{{image9-a:r-w:300}}{{image10-a:r-w:300}}The following prizes were awarded to undergraduates (presented in abbreviated form).
- The Stage 1 Optics Prize for the best performance in Geometrical, Physical Optics, and Visual Optics, Ms Paula Gau.
- The Stage 2 Clinical Optometry Prize for the best performance in Introduction to Clinical Optometry and Primary Care Optometry and the OVRF/ Maki Shiobara Scholarship, Ms Thalia Lim.
- The Stage 3 Ocular Diseases Prize for the best performance in Ocular Disease 3A and 3B, Ms Ann Wen Lim.
- The Stage 4 Contact Lenses Prize for the best performance in Optometry 4A and 4B, Ms Anne Li.
- The Stage 4 Ocular Therapeutics Prize for the highest average mark in Ocular Therapeutics 4A and 4B, went to Ms Celine Zhang.
