University of Technology Sydney (UTS) orthoptics graduate Ms Melinda Mo has been awarded the inaugural ODMA Richard Grills Memorial Prize, announced at UTS Orthoptics Scholarship and Prize night on 31 May.
The prize was awarded to the student who received the highest cumulative mark in the subjects Clinical Management of Refractive Error, and Therapy Management and Rehabilitation, which align with Grills’ area of interest and expertise, UTS said.
The Optical Distributors and Manufacturers Association (ODMA) board director Mr Mark Altman presented the prize to Mo, who travelled from Brisbane to attend the awards night. Mo is currently working at the Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital and is the 2021 Frank Martin Scholarship recipient.
The prize is one of two initiatives ODMA has implemented to honour prior board chair and director, Mr Richard Grills, who passed away in 2022.
ODMA CEO Ms Amanda Trotman said annual prizes have been set up with two universities that Grills worked closely with.
“ODMA felt it was a very fitting way to honour Richard into the future by rewarding graduate achievements in low vision and orthoptics, topics that Richard was so passionate about,” she said.
In addition to UTS, a prize has also been established at the School of Optometry and Vision Science at the UNSW. Known as the Richard Grills ODMA Prize in Low Vision, it will first be awarded in 2024 for achievement in the 2023 academic year.
Both the UTS and UNSW prizes were announced at the time Grills was announced as a recipient of the Member of the Order (AM) in the 2023 King’s Birthday Honours for significant service to community eye health and to the ophthalmic optics industry.
“All of us would have loved for Richard to have enjoyed hearing this news himself as it did sadly take some time for the process for this honour to come to fruition since his nomination,” Trotman said.
Trotman also attended the 2023 Macular Disease Foundation Australia research grant awards held at Admiralty House in June, where an Excellence in Research Award was dedicated in honour of Richard Grills.
“In front of many close colleagues and family in attendance we heard of Richard’s wisdom, expertise and passion. Richard touched and improved the lives of so many people and it has been heart-warming to see the amount of industry acknowledgement for both Richard’s expertise and the wonderful human being he was. We again wish to express ODMA’s thanks for all Richard did for our association specifically and the broader optical industry,” she said.
UTS Scholarships
The ODMA Richard Grills Memorial Prize was one of two inaugural awards, comprising four scholarships and three prizes, announced at the UTS event, a collaboration between UTS Orthoptics, the Graduate School of Health, UTS Advancement team and industry.
Final year UTS Orthoptics student Mr Poa Yin Leung was awarded the inaugural Katoomba Parke Scholarship for demonstrating, at application and interview, a passion to pursue an orthoptic career in rural and remote practice.
As part of the scholarship, Leung received an offer of employment with Katoomba Street Specialist Centre upon graduation.
Dr Paul Adler, principal ophthalmologist and founder of Katoomba Parke Specialist Centre, donated and presented the scholarship.
Professor Frank Martin presented first year UTS Orthoptics student Mr Elias Helou with the Frank Martin Scholarship, awarded to the student with the highest grade point average (GPA) based on the most recent completed tertiary qualification.
First year UTS Orthoptics students Ms Majida Alajia and Mr Sangjun (Samuel) Kim were presented with the UTS Dr Con Moshegov Orthoptics Scholarships by Natalie and Julian Moshegov. Alajia was awarded for the student of refugee background with the highest GPA, and Kim, who has moved with his family from Tasmania to Sydney to study the Master of Orthoptics at UTS, was awarded for the student from a rural, regional or interstate area with the highest GPA.
The Lance/Jolly Prize was awarded to Ms Dan Uyen (Danni) Nguyen for achieving the highest average mark in the orthoptics course. Mrs Neryla Jolly presented the award to Nguyen, a recent graduate who is currently working at Central Sydney Eye Surgeons.
Nguyen also received the Orthoptics Australia prize, for achieving the highest mark in professional practice (clinical) subjects in the final year of the orthoptics course.
She dedicated and delivered part of her speech to her parents in Vietnamese who were in attendance.
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