Title: CHPPD Section Creates New Opportunities for APHA Student Members
Author:
Section/SPIG: Community Health Planning and Policy Development
Issue Date:
As the Student Assembly Liaison to the Community Health Planning and Policy Development Section, it is my pleasure to announce several new opportunities for students to become more involved and visible within the Section.
This year CHPPD leadership announced new abstract submission opportunities for students, and as a result saw an increase in student submission. The first are two new student awards for the best submissions by a masters and a doctoral student. Please keep your eye out for the announcement of these awards in the next CHPPD newsletter. Each award recipient was chosen on the basis of their abstract review scores, and were accepted to present in a CHPPD oral session. They will also be given a $200 travel scholarship to the Annual Meeting and an award presented at the CHPPD social hour. As usual, all student abstracts receiving good scores were incorporated into the CHPPD program. This year, however, students receiving scores below the acceptance level will be offered constructive feedback on their abstract from volunteer CHPPD faculty members. The purpose of this new process is to provide new student members and first-time submitters with feedback to help them improve their future APHA abstracts.
Last month, CHPPD leadership also voted to pledge a contribution of $500 to the Student Assembly, in order to support their new Student Assembly Conference Scholarship. This donation exceeds that suggested by the Student Assembly, as it is the feeling of the Section that this is a worthwhile cause. Students often struggle to fund their travel and registration at the Annual Meeting, and yet are the future leaders in public health and APHA.
The CHPPD Section is also involving students in local arrangements this year in New Orleans. These students will help coordinate any local activities, receive CHPPD booth materials prior to the meeting, and will help set up and man the booth throughout the meeting. These students include Audrey Lipham, Jonathan Alford, and Salman Baghian from Louisiana State University, and Kim Nguyen from Baton Rouge Community College. In return for their invaluable assistance, the section will cover their student membership and provide each with a $150 stipend for Annual Meeting housing and travel arrangements. If you see these students at the booth, please be sure to introduce yourself.
These new student opportunities allow the Section to draw more students into CHPPD and encourage wider participation in the Section’s activities, contribution to the Section’s Annual Meeting program, and involvement in the Section’s leadership. It is my opinion that increased student participation in the Section will increase membership, enthusiasm, and long-term sustainability in our already vibrant Section! If you are interested in being involved in the CHPPD student committee, please contact me.