NSUCO - The Visionary Fall 2010

the VISIONARY • Summer/Fall 2010 31 National Optometric Student Association Fourth Annual Banquet P ICTURED ( LEFT TO RIGHT ) ARE H UMA J EELANI (OD-4), N OURAH Z ETIR (OD-4), T HAO H O (OD-3), A SINECH M IDA (OD-4), D EDRIX D AKA (OD-3), D ENISE S AUNDERS (OD-4), S TEVEN K LEIN (OD-3), V ICTORIA T RIEU (OD-2), B UPATHI D ISSANAYAKE (OD-4), J OHNNY M ORETTE (OD-3), W ENDY W AI (OD-3), M AGDALENA S AINT -L OUIS (OD-3), L EIGH M AST (OD-3), A NEIKA W ILLIAMS (OD-2), AND S OMAYEH S EMATI (OD-3). B Y OD-4 D ENISE S AUNDERS , P RESIDENT , N ATIONAL O PTOMETRIC S TUDENT A SSOCIATION (2009-10) P ICTURED ( LEFT TO RIGHT ) ARE H ULDAH S KINNER , C INDY C ORK , O.D. (’98), S ELWYN S KINNER , AND S HERROL R EYNOLDS , O.D. (’96). On April 9, the National Optometric Student Association (NOSA) hosted its Fourth An- nual Banquet in the HPD Chancellor’s Dining Room to commemorate the end of the aca- demic year. In attendance were faculty members from the College of Optometry, including Dr. Michael Baci- galupi (assistant dean of students), Dr. Julie Tyler (clinic module chief), and Dr. Sherrol Reynolds (NOSA faculty adviser). Also in attendance were several members from the Fort Lauderdale Lions Club, in- cluding Dr. James Brauss, District 35-D vice president of the Florida Lions Eye Bank. During the banquet, awards were presented to those who continuously support the efforts of the organi- zation. Faculty members recognized were Dr. Greg Black, Dr. Bacigalupi, Dr. Reynolds and Dr. David Loshin, dean of the College of Optometry. An award was also presented to Huldah Skinner, Fort Laud- erdale Lions Club president, in recognition of the or- ganization’s sponsorship of NOSA for mission trips to Jamaica as well as its participation and co-sponsor- ship with the American Optometric Association (AOA) Healthy Eyes Healthy People (HEHP) Glaucoma Awareness Campaigns, led by Dr. Reynolds. The banquet guest speaker was Dr. Smith Blanc, a contact lens resident who is a graduate of NSU’s Col- lege of Optometry and a former NOSA president in 2007-08. Dr. Blanc gave an inspirational presentation regarding the advantage of residency in the opto- metric profession and also shared his recent experi- ence of traveling to Haiti in the aftermath of the catastrophic earthquake that occurred in January. NOSA officers for the 2010-11 academic year were in- troduced at the banquet. The new NOSA Executive Board will be lead by OD-3 Johnny Morette (presi- dent) and OD-3 Steven Klein (vice president).