ST. LOUIS—Illinois College of Optometry’s (ICO) Nora Kuby took home the trophy late last month at the AOSA (American Optometric Student Association) Student Bowl (OSB), powered by Essilor of America. The 28th annual edition of the competition was held on the opening day of Optometry’s Meeting here.

The Student Bowl, always a unique event for students and supporters of the nation’s various optometry schools, was for the first time in its history held “offsite,” at The Pageant, an iconic concert hall in the heart of Delmar Loop in St. Louis. More than 850 attendees gathered to watch the contestants, who represented 25 schools and colleges of optometry. The students answered optometry-related questions while their classmates energetically cheered them on wearing war paint, school colors and displaying brightly colored banners.

“Essilor is invested in the future of our industry and we are continuously looking for ways to create value for optometry students,” Essilor of America director of professional education Dr. Ryan Parker said. “We’re honored to host the AOSA Optometry Student Bowl again, and we’ve enjoyed how the excitement for this event has grown more and more every year.”

In addition to bragging rights, the winning school, the Illinois College of Optometry, represented by Kuby, took home $1,000 and will house the coveted Ventura Cup until next year’s meeting in Washington, D.C. The school also was awarded with a host of diagnostic lenses from Volk Optical and a portable slit lamp from Keeler.

Second-place winner, the University of Waterloo College of Optometry, represented by Jen Duimering, received $750, and two schools tied for third-place—the University of California Berkley College of Optometry, represented by Lucas Wilson, and the Ohio State University College of Optometry represented by Brianna Farley—with both taking home $500. As in previous years, all OSB contestants were presented with a Volk Pan Retinal 2.2 blue-ringed lens, generously donated by Volk Optical.

The event’s Spirit Award went to the Michigan College of Optometry, which will create next year’s “hype video” that is shown at the beginning of the event. The Oklahoma College of Optometry won the social media-based Virtual Spirit Award.