Announcing the winners of our 2013 Get Ready Scholarship

Six students at the high school, undergraduate and graduate level have been chosen to receive scholarships in APHA’s fifth annual Get Ready Scholarship competition.

The Get Ready Scholarship is designed to encourage high school and college students to focus on the importance of emergency preparedness. Students were asked to submit an essay on various topics, including flu prevention awareness, state-level emergency preparedness and improving flu vaccination rates among health workers.

Out of hundreds of essays, the following six were chosen as winners:

High school level:

• Colin Maloney: Saint Ignatius High School, Cleveland, Ohio
• Brittany Yopp: Isaac Bear Early College High School, Wilmington, N.C.

Undergraduate college level:

• Ashlee Benge: Goucher College, Cedar Park, Texas
• Makedah Johnson: University of Maryland, Silver Spring, Md.

Graduate college level:

• Fabienne Lorenz: California State University-Northridge, Reseda, Calif.
• Anjani Parikh: Virginia Commonwealth University, Glen Allen, Va.

“Through the scholarship program, we are thrilled to help educate these dedicated students about the importance of emergency preparedness and provide financial assistance that will allow them to further their education,” said Georges Benjamin, MD, executive director of APHA. “This year’s winners are among the best and brightest students in the country and will become exemplary public health leaders in their own communities one day. We join them in celebrating their hard work.”

Each student will receive a $500 scholarship and a one-year APHA student membership. Read excerpts from the winning essays on the Get Ready website.

Congratulations to our winners, and thank you to every student who submitted an essay!