This year’s SnowViz (formerly Snowvision) scholars have been announced. Optometrists Taryn Johnn, Hannah Kang and Tess McCaffrey have been selected to attend the State University of New York (SUNY) for four weeks to improve their clinical optometry skills.
Since 1997, the trustees of the Snowvision Charitable Trust has offered annual SUNY scholarships of up to $8,000 to two or three New Zealand optometrists, to be used within five years of being granted.
Taryn Johnn (pictured above) – A 1999 graduate of the University of Durban-Westville (now the University of KwaZulu-Natal), South Africa, Taryn Johnn and her husband immigrated to Australia at the end of 2009. “In 2011 we travelled to New Zealand and fell in love with its beauty and diverse landscapes. In 2017 we decided to make it our permanent home,” she says. The Johnns have lived in Cromwell for the past six years. “We are very happy here. I love working for Central Otago Optical’s Alexandra practice.”
Johnn recently added qualifications in vision therapy for visual dysfunctions and neuro-optometric care to her specialisations in children’s visual learning, vision therapy and binocular vision. The way SUNY’s optical dispensers approach visual assessment and manage visual conditions is on a different level and their techniques and tools are advanced, she says. “I am excited to learn from their expertise. In New Zealand I see a significant number of patients with concussion, so I am keen to learn as much as I can to help them in their recovery journey.”
Having never visited the US before, Johnn says she is “just thrilled” to visit New York. “I am looking forward to seeing the 9/11 Memorial and soaking up the vibrant culture and history that makes the city iconic. I enjoy photography, so seeing the city and Central Park will be a creative adventure.”
