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Atif Khan, OD ‘26, has been named the 2026 winner of the Donald H. Evans, OD Award. Presented by the Pennsylvania Vision Conservation Institute, this honor is awarded to a Doctor of Optometry student for “outstanding service to the Pennsylvania College of Optometry, the visual welfare of the public and the community.”
Khan will be honored at the upcoming Pennsylvania Optometric Association (POA) Spring Congress in Pittsburgh along with other award recipients.
In his nomination letter for the award, Dr. Khan wrote of his commitment to the optometric profession and serving the community.
“My journey through optometric education has been guided by the oath that I took when I was accepted to the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) and committing myself to service, leadership and the advancement of the visual welfare of underserved communities,” he wrote. “As a student at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO), I have always made it my goal to serve my patients with the best quality of care that I can provide.”
While at PCO, Dr. Khan was a member of the Student Optometric Service to Humanity (SOSH), a student-run organization that provides eyecare to impoverished areas.
During his second year of optometry school, he participated in a 10-day mission trip to Montego Bay, Jamaica, where the team provided comprehensive eye examinations to underserved communities with limited access to vision care. Over the course of the trip, the team evaluated 1,992 patients, many of whom had never previously received an eye examination.
“This experience reinforced the profound impact that optometry can have in improving quality of life through something as fundamental as being able to see the world clearly,” said Dr. Khan.
He added that one encounter, in particular, really stood out to him. “During my very first day, I met an elderly woman who had never received an eye exam and she explained to me that she gave up trying to read because she could not see anymore. As I refracted her and corrected her vision, I saw her face change to the biggest smile I have ever seen. We were able to provide her with glasses in order for her to see at distance and near for reading. In that moment, I was reminded of how much of an impact optometry can make on an individual’s quality of life.”
In addition to his work with SOSH, Dr. Khan also completed a three-month externship rotation at the William Feinbloom Low Vision Rehabilitation Center, housed at The Eye Institute’s (TEI), which is for low vision and vision rehabilitation services. As a part of his clinical rotation there, he participated in vision screenings in local schools to identify students who may benefit from low vision rehabilitation services.
“Being a part of the low vision team allowed me to understand that 20/20 vision does not always mean perfect vision,” he said. “And, seeing a child with a condition, such as retinitis pigmentosa, helped me understand that even though that child was 20/20, their peripheral vision was not.”
Dr. Khan said he greatly appreciates the time that he spent at the Feinbloom Low Vision Rehabilitation Center, and he believes the experience enhanced his understanding of patients with visual impairments.
