Dr. Marvin Poston |
RANCHO CORDOVA, Calif.—Alexis Broussard, a second year optometry student and president of the
National Optometric Student Association (NOSA) chapter at
Nova Southeastern University, College of Optometry in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is the first recipient of the VSP Marvin R. Poston Leadership Award. The award is named for Dr. Marvin Poston, who, along with several of his fellow optometrists, formed California Vision Services, now known as
VSP Vision Care.
“I am extremely grateful and thankful for being selected as the first recipient of the VSP Marvin R. Poston Leadership Award,” said Broussard. “Receipt of this award has strengthened my confidence and will allow me to take on other leadership roles in the future without fear or hesitation.”
The winner of the VSP Marvin R. Poston Leadership Award is determined by a committee of VSP employees at the NOSA Leadership Academy, who evaluate the leadership characteristics of NOSA chapter officers. Along with the recognition, the recipient also receives a one-time financial award of $2,500. The criteria to qualify for the award include: optometry student in good academic standing with a minimum GPA of 3.0, active member of NOSA who serves in a leadership role with the national organization or local chapter, committed to a career of leadership and service to the profession of optometry, business-minded student who is preparing for a career in private-practice optometry.
Jim McGrann, president of VSP Vision Care said, “VSP was founded in supporting growth and diversity in optometry. The VSP Marvin R. Poston Leadership Award is one more way we can invest in the future leaders of optometry as they pursue a career of leadership and service to help others see what’s possible.”
Poston (1915-2002) was the first African American individual in optometry to achieve: admission to and graduate from (1939) the
University of California, Berkeley School of Optometry; licensed to practice optometry on the west coast of the United States; and, honored as the Optometrist of the Year by the
American Optometric Association and
California Optometric Association. Poston was also appointed to three terms on the
California State Board of Optometry by Governors Edmund G. “Pat” Brown and Ronald Reagan.
(L to R) Stephanie Johnson-Brown, OD, president of the National Optometric Association;
Alexis Broussard; and Dana Beards, university & student relations at VSP.