Luke Oliver, pictured in Melbourne, said he’s delighted at the prospect of learning at the prestigious college

Announced at the first Snowvision conference in five years, this year’s Snowvision State University of New York (SUNY) scholars are Luke Oliver, Jason Shen and Carmen Liu.

Luke Oliver, optometrist award - With a special interest in sports optometry and neuro-optometric rehabilitation, Wellington-based McClellan Grimmer Edgar optometrist Luke Oliver said he’s very excited to explore this expanding field at SUNY. A centre for sports and performance vision was established at the university in 2015 by renowned ophthalmologist and sports vision specialist Dr Daniel Laby, said Oliver. “The centre provides clinical care to athletes but also conducts research in the field. This will be a great opportunity for me to learn more about this fascinating field, which combines both my passions – optometry and sport.” Unsurprisingly, catching a baseball game at the Yankee Stadium and a Knicks game at Madison Square Garden are also high on Oliver’s list of Big Apple must-dos too.

Jason Shen

Jason Shen, optometrist award – Dividing his time between Rototuna Optometrists and Rose Optometry in Hamilton, Jason Shen has a special interest in contact lenses and myopia control. He said he’s looking forward to furthering these skills at SUNY. “Coming from a contact lens-focused practice, it will be great to learn new things that I can take back and share with my colleagues in New Zealand. I’m also interested in observing the other specialty areas SUNY offers.”

Carmen Liu

Carmen Liu, recent graduate award – Carmen Liu said she is very grateful and honoured to receive this “golden” opportunity to visit SUNY. “This is such a rare opportunity that no textbook or webinar could ever replicate. As a recent graduate, it is a chance for me to increase my exposure to tricky clinical cases, hear about the latest advances in the field and observe optometry from a fresh perspective.”

Working at Auckland’s Mortimer Hirst, Liu said she sees many patients who require a challenging contact lens fit and children who require myopia control. “This will naturally be an area of focus for me at SUNY but I’m also keen to observe the renowned head trauma visual-rehabilitation clinics.”

Since 1997, the trustees of the Snowvision Charitable Trust have announced annual scholarships for a recent graduate and up to two optometrists from New Zealand to attend SUNY, New York, for four weeks to improve their clinical optometry skills. The scholarship is up to $8,000 and lasts for five years. The fund is supported by Snowvision’s biannual Queenstown conference.