ASCO to Participate in New Residency and Graduate Program Fair at Academy 2019

Attention students: Mark your calendar! On Friday, October 25, from noon to 3 p.m. in the Valencia Ballroom of the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, the American Academy of Optometry will hold its first Residency and Graduate Program Fair, and ASCO will have a strong presence. This inaugural event will offer student attendees to Academy 2019 the opportunity to explore in one place the many residency and graduate programs available to them across the United States. And ASCO will be moving its “Ask the Experts” (ATE) event to the Program Fair this year! The inaugural ATE was held at the ASCO booth at Academy 2018 in San Antonio, Texas.

The 2019 Ask the Experts will feature guests from academia who’ll spend quality, one-on-one time speaking with students who are considering post-OD graduate education or residency programs. The experts will also offer encouragement through the sharing of their own career paths. As was the case in 2018, there will be plenty of incentives for students to stop by the ASCO area - raffles, games, grab-and-go snacks and freebie,s to name a few. The first 25 students to stop by will receive a free ASCO backpack!

Confirmed experts are: Dr. Heather Anderson, UHCO; Dr. Pinakin Davey, WUCO; Dr. Erin Jenewein, PCO; Dr. Kelly Nichols, Dean, UABSO; Dr. Taylor Phillips (the first recipient of UAB's dual-degree doctor of optometry/master of business administration); and Dr. Dean VanNasdale, Jr., OSU. Additional experts are soon to be added. Materials featuring research contacts at ASCO institutions and graduate program information and statistics will be available for students to peruse. Lunch will be provided at the Program Fair. Event sponsors in addition to ASCO are Johnson & Johnson Vision and Vision Source.  

Students interested in attending the ATE at the AAO’s Residency and Graduate Program Fair may also want to check out the varied residency and graduate program-related resources on ASCO’s website, which include this four-minute video “Academic Research in Optometry” and a PowerPoint entitled “Career Opportunities for ODs in Academia: Teaching and Research Needs”. 

For more information about the ATE event, contact Carol Brubaker, ASCO’s manager of professional affairs, at cbrubaker@opted.org.