Washington, D.C., April 25, 2011 – The American Public Health Association today announced the six
recipients of its 2011 Get Ready Scholarship, an annual award given to high
school, undergraduate and graduate students who display a strong commitment to
improving public health and emergency preparedness.
This
year’s scholarship recipients were chosen from among hundreds of applications submitted
by students across the nation. The winners were selected on the quality of
their essays on preparedness. Each of the awardees will receive $500 from the
Get Ready campaign to further their education and pay for school costs as well
as a free one-year APHA membership. Below is the list of the students who have
been selected for this year’s scholarship award.
High
school level:
Katherine Double, Bear
Creek High
School, Lakewood,
Colo.
Amy Miller, Yukon High
School, Yukon, Okla.
Undergraduate
college level:
Alex Ghenis, University
of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, Calif.
Katelyn Somers, University
of Maryland, College Park, Md.
Graduate
college level:
Alana Massey, Yale
University, New Haven, Conn.
Leanne Piña, University
of Texas, Houston, Texas
Students were asked to submit an essay on various topics ranging
from planning a successful Get Ready Day event and assessing their university’s
emergency plan to discussing the role of social media as a tool for emergency
preparedness. Visit the Get Ready website to read excerpts from the winning entries.
“We are very pleased that
for the third straight year, we have been able to not only help educate these dedicated
students about the importance of emergency preparedness in their own
communities but also to provide financial assistance that will allow them to
further their education,” said Georges C. Benjamin, MD, FACP, FACEP (E),
executive director of APHA.
Started
in 2009, the scholarship is a component of APHA’s Get Ready campaign, which
works to help Americans prepare themselves, their families and their
communities for all health hazards and disasters, including pandemic flu and
infectious disease. Learn more about the Get Ready
Scholarship at www.aphagetready.org. For additional Get Ready materials, go to the Get Ready blog or listen to a recent podcast.