An educational award in memory of a beloved eye surgeon has gone this year to an aspiring Bermudian eye-care professional studying in the United States.

Keirra Winn was chosen by the Bermuda International Institute of Ophthalmology to be the 2022 recipient of the Leonard Teye-Botchway award, named after the eye doctor and former Olympic runner who died in 2019.

Ms Winn, 22, of Pembroke, graduated magna cum laude from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia in December 2020 with a bachelor of science in biology as well as a minor in sociology.

She said her interest in the vision-care field started in university — furthered by a summer job in an optometry office.

“In 2019, I got an opportunity to shadow a local optometrist at Spexx EyeCare in Bermuda,” Ms Winn said. “The owner, Wanitta Smith, was on maternity leave at the time so I shadowed her locum eye doctor, Tia Crockwell.

“She was the first person to tell me about the field of orthoptics — and it sounded really interesting. Following that opportunity, I researched the field of orthoptics, the schooling and the profession, and I was sold.”

Orthoptists are eye-care professionals that work under the supervision of an ophthalmologist, specialising in the diagnosis and non-surgical treatment of conditions ranging from eye misalignment to amblyopia or “lazy eye”, as well as double vision and any type of binocular vision problem.

Ms Winn said she enrolled in the Orthoptics Fellowship Programme at the University of Minnesota in August 2021. It is a two-year programme.

“I am due to sit my board examinations in the summer of 2023,” she added.

“Upon completion, I'll be a certified orthoptist through the American Association of Certified Orthoptists.”

Ms Winn said the BIIO scholarship helped with a string of expenses from tuition to room and board fees.

“Overall, it's releasing a financial burden for myself and my family,” she said. “Orthoptics is a very specific niche in the vision-care field and there are numerous job opportunities worldwide.”

While Ms Winn said she had not settled on where she planned on starting her career, she added: “I would love to return to Bermuda to utilise my skills for the betterment of vision care on the island.”