Elora Robbani, a fourth year student at the UAB School of Optometry, has been selected for an Essilor internship this summer for which only one fourth year student is selected annually.
Robbani pursued the competitive internship because, while she loves providing clinical care, there is an interest in discovering how working in industry could also benefit patients. Additionally, she wants to learn more about Essilor's products and the ongoing projects they have.
“Looking at opportunities in industry has shown me a new way to help serve patients on a global scale, by approaching vision health on a macro level,” she said.
The internship includes 10 weeks at Essilor's U.S. headquarters in Dallas, which may or may not be interrupted by COVID-19. According to Essilor, the scope of this position will allow interns to gain experience working in a variety of settings including Professional and Customer Education, Professional Relations, Marketing, Patient Care, and various other departments. They are assigned a project and then are given the opportunity to present it to company representatives at the end of the summer.
The position will report to the Senior Director of Customer Development. Compensation for this paid internship is very competitive and housing costs and accommodations are included for the duration of the program.
In addition to a resume, applicants had to submit a video no longer than 3- minutes about their qualifications and desire for the internship.
“I brainstormed quite a bit about what would help my application video be unique,” Robbani said. “I finally landed on an animated video that could translate my different experiences through art, instead of a video of me talking at the camera for three minutes.”
In her video she discussed her range of clinical experiences at UAB including seeing patients at the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind, working in the school’s concussion clinic and specialty contact lens clinics, seeing patients at the local nursing homes, and seeing patients at the UAB Student Health Clinic. She also discussed the various electives offered at UABSO that made her more interested in the internship, like Advanced Optical and Concepts of Practice Management.
“I think, realistically, I will spend a few years in corporate optometry to help pay off loans and then consider a private practice,” Robbani said. “I'm very excited to find a way to balance my interest in industry while still seeing patients.”