This document introduces the new president and members of the ICO Alumni Council. It provides brief biographies of the council president, Dr. Dominick Maino, and two council members, Dr. Jennifer Park and Dr. David Jones. Dr. Maino hopes to encourage alumni to give back their time, talent, and resources to support ICO. The council works to strengthen connections between alumni and ICO.

1. Leading by Example
Meet the New ICO Alumni Council Presfdent & Alumni Council Members
Chicago
HometOWll
Practice Informabon Northwest Optometric Associates
Harwood Heights. 111.
r
Other Degrees Ce rliflc ~tlons
BA. Beloit Collegi': filS! pedi311iclbinocu lar viSion
resldenr at the Illinois College of Optometry: M.Ed..
nlversity of Illinois Chicago; Fellow. College of Op­
tometrists In Vision Oevi'lo ment; F 110w. American
Academy ofOpconli'try
You'd Be SUfjl!15ed to Know
Dr. Maino is the first faculty member to servi' as
an ICO Alumni (ounal presIdent and on the ICO
Boar ofTrum~es Simultaneously. Another fact: he
likes singing opera!
ICO Matters: Do you remember what firsl hrts been and is dedicated to making that The Illinoi s College of Op tometry chano-es
led you to (CO? connectio n . to ex tending tha t hand of in a positive fashion o n a daily basis. Ge t
welcome. and creating an environment to know us beller. You will like what you
Dr. Maino: I decided in Lhird grade that that gives our alumni a sense of great see.
I wanted to be an optometrist because pride in ICO.
my family opto m e trist was such a great ICOM: Why did YOll create the Dr. and
individual. Over the years I looked at TeOM: What do you hope to ac(.'omplisll l'vlrs . Maino Visiting PI'Ofessor Program?
medicine. PhD programs and even most as the Alwnni Council pres idem
bu siness. but always kept coming back to lhisyear1 Dr. Maino: Several years ago, I WrtS invi ted
optometry. Although I have lived in many to be the visiting professor in programs
places around the country. I have always Dr. Maino: If I have a singl e goal as developed by the New En gland College of
consid ered Chicago my home. so the most president of the Alumni Council. it is to Optometry and the Southern Ca lifo rnia
logical place for me to go to optometry have all alumni become willing to shrtre College of Optometry. I spe nt several d ays
sc hoo l was in my hometown. their time. talent and trea sure with the interacting with faculty a nd sL ud e nts
instituti on tha t made it all possible. working in their clinics and lecturing, as
rCOM: ow thal YOll are in your last year well as providing continuing education
oryou!" third Lerro as aD AJumni Council You can s har~ your time by simply reading lectures and participating in special
m'mher. wl1:l1 do you see a.~ the major this a nd all com munications rece ived symposia . After doing this I sat down wirh
accomplishments of the Counol during from lCO. You ca n sh are your talent by my wife, Sylvia. and we decided tha t th e
(hose years? promoting your profess ion and [CO to Illino is College of Optometry, t he finest
the young patients you see daily w ho optometric educatio n institution in
would make great optometrists. Plant the United States. should have a similar
Dr. Maino: The major goa l of oLlr Alumni
the seed into that st udent 's mind. Watch program.
Council was, is and will always be to assist
our alumni in havin g a se nse of being it take root and perhaps blossom into a
closer to the Illinois Co llege of Optometry. fellow optometrist. You can share some Working with the ICO deve lopmem office.
This includes making that connection treasure by supporting programs s uch my wife and I esta blished the ViSiting
both a t the perso n al and professional as the Leadership Circle, the Dr. and Professo r prog ram as an 'ndowed fimd so
level. Under the past (a nd hopefully Mrs. Dominick Maino Visiting Professor it will conrinue {-Or a very long tillle. The
cu rrent) leaderShip. the Alumni Cou nci l Progra m and numerou s other programs individual s who do the research and write
availab le at ICO. the books that we base our educa tion and
14 1 SPRING 2011 I ICO MATTERS

2. clinical care upon arc not creat ures that
should be loc ked away in an ivory tower.
but resources we need to share within
and among thc schools and colleges of
OptoIllCtry. We owe it to our students an d Hometown, Grew Hometown.
to our f;lculty to allow the m access to th e up In Cambridge,
Ontario Canada , Aurora, III.
most creative mind s optometry has to offer .
but I now reside In
Sio ux Falls, SD Praotice Informa­
(COM: Wbat molivat s you to give back tloo: Pilrk Family
to (CO? P~cUce I nforma~on' Eye Ca re, with
Clinic Director at son Quen in
Jones Eye Clinic, Pork, 0 0 '04.
Dr. Maino: V'''e must always remember that ilnd daughter,
multidiSCiplina ry
no matter what your expnience was like surgical center Lena Park, 00
as a student at ICO, without it you would '06.
not now have the personal, professional You'd Be Surprised to
a nd fiscal gifts of a profess ion where Know. ptomeny is my second career. I ~vas a You'd Be Surprised to Know: Instead of working
research che mist in a forensiC Idb, considerin all the time now, I am fi nally able to Helvel
you make a significant and and enjoy photography. A big thank you to
positive difference in the li ves a masrers/PhD prog ram when one day I de­
cided being locked away in a lab was not how my son and daug h er for making he practice
of your patien ts every single I wanted to spend the rest of my life. I walked grow.
day. You should consider in and took the OAT tt.1e very next week.
making sure this ac ademic
and clinical environment
co ntinu es to graduate young • • • •••
men and womcn with the
same opportunities for
lCO Mallers: What led you to the opto ­ ICOM: How do you hope 10 serve lCO as a
success in all that they do.
metric pI'ofession1 member of the Alumni Council?
Your donation of whatever
time. talent and treas ure o u have to give Dr. Park: I want to help alumni and future
to ICO matters. It m akes a difference . Give. Dr. Park: I always wanted to become a alumni to help our profes ion grow and
h ealthcare profess ional and did not want succeed. I want to e ncourage our alumni
to have night call duty and perform any to beco me go od stewards of' our profes­
type of surgery. Tilis was th e perfect fit. j sion .
love to help people and make a difference.
Dr. McCann: I am conrinuousl amazed at
- Dr. McCann: [n university. [ was involved the d edica tion of t he AC mem be rs . They
I in a vl/oillen In Science symposium intro­ are an incredible group of individuals
d ucing high school girl s to scie nce. [ wa s who love what they do and want to keep
ALUMNI COUNCil seated with an optometrist at lun ch and ICO the premier in stiruti on for optomd ­
listen ing to her discu ss her career sparked ric edu ca tion , The impact of our d ~'c is ion s
my interest. While I took a slight detour, on students, our future colleagues and
that spark flared up when I reali zed ( alumni is weighed ca refully and given top
wanted to deal with peopl e and move priority. [am honored to join the m and
away from lab work. I found optometry of­ hope I an bring a voice (or more recen r
PtesIcIent
fered many of the aspects [ enjoyed from grads ,
my research, had the added benefit of
potentially owning my own business and (COM : What would you say to an alum­
VIce PtHIcIent
dea ling with new people every day, nus who is hesitant about becoming
involved in (CO programs and/ol' giving
Stcretlry-TrNsum
(COM: Why did you decide to volunteer back?
[or the Alumni Council?
Dr. Park: [ would suggest th ey come and
Immediate PlSt Ptesident
Dr, Park: I wanted to give back to my pro­ visit [CO for Alumni Wee kend and see
fession besides just giving back to my com­ what has ch anged and wh:!t will become
munity. of th e school in the fu ture . See the con­
tinuing change in our profession from
Dr. McCa nn: After graduation and resi­
where we came years ago .
dency training, I rem a ined at [CO as a fac­
ulty member lor several yea rs before mov­ Dr. McCan.n: Do itl [CO has shaped who
ing to my husband 's home stare. I really you are and the way you practice today.
m issed my "[CO family" ;lnd tllOUght the Your support is important and matters
StUdent Repre5IIItallvvs
AC would be a great way to stay invol ved a great deal ; whether it be attending CE
and give back. prog rams, parti cipa ting in alumni events.
promoting (CO to potential st ude nts or, of
co urse, financial donations ,
SP~ING ~o I I ICO MATTERS /