The 2021-2022 class of student leaders joined CooperVision at an exclusive welcome reception during the recent American Academy of Optometry Annual Meeting in Boston.
 
SAN RAMON, Calif.—CooperVision has launched the CooperVision Student Myopia Leadership Society, an initiative that the company said will impact the eyecare profession and patients for decades to come. The new initiative comes as studies indicate that 58 percent of North American residents are expected to have myopia by 2050, according to the company’s recent announcement. In addition, CooperVision said it is committed to investing in the long-term growth of myopia management. Each of the 23 schools and colleges of optometry across the U.S. and Canada have designated a third-year student for participation, based on their interest in the disease, academic performance and other school-determined criteria. Selected students serve a one-year term, the announcement noted.

Participants receive several opportunities to collaborate with their peers, hear from myopia management experts, improve their understanding of evidence-based science, and gain insights into successful practice operations. The students are also offered travel grants to two educational industry events of their choosing, including the American Academy of Optometry annual meeting, Global Specialty Lens Symposium, Vision by Design, and the Global Myopia Symposium.
 
In addition, the myopia student leaders are invited to complete Brilliant Futures certification, which includes MiSight 1 day soft contact lenses for myopia control in children aged 8 to 12 at the initiation of treatment, as well as Paragon CRT and iSee ortho-k lenses for myopia management.
 
This program joins the rebranded Student Contact Lens Leadership Society, to which all North American schools and colleges of optometry likewise name an annual participant, CooperVision said in its announcement.
 
“Part of CooperVision’s ongoing commitment to advancing the profession includes investing in its future optometrists,” said Justin Kwan, OD, FAAO, senior manager, myopia management, at CooperVision. “Adding a focused myopia management initiative is a natural evolution of our student ambassador programs. In conjunction with their classroom and clinical education, our guidance will better prepare them to be the myopia management advocates of tomorrow.”
 
The 2021-2022 class of student leaders joined CooperVision at an exclusive welcome reception during the recent American Academy of Optometry annual meeting in Boston.
 
“I’m excited to be part of such a unique network and a nourishing environment,” said Alia Raad, an Illinois College of Optometry (ICO) student and a member of the CooperVision Student Myopia Leadership Society inaugural class. “With a deeper knowledge of myopia management, we will be able to educate parents, patients, and peers to truly make a difference.”
 
For more information about CooperVision’s Student Myopia Leadership Society and the Student Contact Lens Leadership Society, visit CooperVision’s Optometry Students & Educators webpage or email professionalaffairs@coopervision.com.