Posted by
Cydoc on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 9:59:48 PM
UHCO Students Meet Undersecretary of Education
Five University of Houston College of Optometry students were selected to meet with Sara Martinez Tucker, the Undersecretary of Education, on February 28, 2008. The Undersecretary is currently on a tour around the country promoting a new initiative to improve college attendance and graduation.
Ben Uhl (OPT IV), Marcia Moore (OPT IV), Jamie Houser (OPT III), Sarah Fruge (OPT III) and Geetika Mehra (OPT III) along with 15 other University of Houston students were invited to discuss issues including:
- personal stories of college success
- barriers to admittance and completion
- federal financial aid
- solutions to increase college attendance
The optometry students discussed increasing in the limit of Stafford loans for the health professions, which was received positively. The Undersecretary said that she was familiar with the issue and we could anticipate a positive outcome in the future.
In addition, while communicating the importance of optometric debt management, the topic of loan forgiveness for health professions, specifically the National Health Service Corps (NHSC), was introduced. As the subject was first talked about, it was assumed that optometry was a profession included in this valuable program, which provides health services to underserved populations while forgiving the federal debt of the health professional. The optometry students quickly pointed out that, after the last modification, the NHSC program removed optometry from the list of approved health professions. Undersecretary Tucker made a point to her assistant to investigate this further.
This opportunity provided a unique experience with a cabinet level official to directly discuss, and possibly influence, national policy before its full integration. A great sense of accomplishment stems from having also discussed issues specific to the optometric profession, while also receiving encouragement on their outcomes. Overall, the appearance, organization, and presence of the optometry students were both professional and impressive. We are encouraged by our student leader’s performance and can remain confident that the future of our profession and professional education will stay at the vanguard of the healthcare field.