Latest News ABB Optical Group and Paragon Vision Sciences Name Optometry Student Challenge Winners By Staff Monday, February 6, 2017 12:21 AM (L to R) Aaron See, ABB Optical Group VP of Marketing; Kimberly-Anne Llamzon; Michael Kreuzer; Sara Siebert; and Richard Jeffries, president of Paragon Vision Sciences. CORAL SPRINGS, Fla.—ABB Optical Group, in partnership with Paragon Vision Sciences, announced the three winners of the Optometry Student Challenge—a program designed to support optometry students and foster the study of contact lenses. Through the Optometry Student Challenge, third and fourth year students who registered were asked to create an abstract focusing on study projects or student-based case histories related to contact lenses. From more than 40 submissions, five finalists were chosen. The five students were required to convert their abstracts into scientific posters and from there the judges selected the top three posters. “It is so exciting to see the participation we’ve had in this student challenge,” said Ann Shackelford, director of consultation and specialty services at ABB Optical Group. “We received so many outstanding submissions from really talented students. By developing educational opportunities like the Optometry Student Challenge, we are helping shape the optometrist of tomorrow.” The lead authors of the top three posters were Sara Siebert, Indiana University School of Optometry; Kimberly-Anne Llamzon, New England College of Optometry; and Michael Kreuzer, University of Waterloo who were awarded a $1,500 travel grant to attend and present their posters at the recent 2017 Global Specialty Lens Symposium (GSLS) which took place Jan. 26 to 29. Ryan Chia, a student at Salus University and Olivia Cheng, a student at UC Berkeley, were honorable mentions and each received $250.“Both Paragon Vision Sciences and ABB Optical Group recognize the importance of involving students in the industry through these types of educational initiatives,” said Rich Jeffries, president of Paragon Vision Sciences. “The Optometry Student Challenge is an example of the commitment both companies share for providing quality education to students and optometry professionals."