College students: Are you vaccinated against meningitis?

As the start of the fall college semester nears, parents and students should be aware of bacterial meningitis. Bacterial meningitis is usually a severe disease that can cause brain damage, hearing loss and other serious complications. It’s caused by inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. Luckily, there are vaccines that can prevent it.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends college students and young adults between the ages of 19-24 get vaccinated against meningitis, as they are more susceptible since its spread by close physical contact. College students are more inclined to be living in close quarters and sharing personal items.

Last year, several universities experienced outbreaks on campus. Many states require incoming college students, especially those living on campus, to be vaccinated for meningitis before they are allowed to register for courses. Students who received their vaccinations before their 16th birthday are encouraged to get a booster dose before heading to college to ensure maximum protection.
  

Get Ready Scholarship: Apply now!

APHA is happy to announce that its Get Ready Scholarship is now open for submissions.

High school seniors as well as college undergraduates and graduate students are welcome to enter the contest. We will award two $500 scholarships for the best essays in each student category.

Sounds great, right? All you have to do is write a short essay answering one of three questions about preparedness. The contest is open until March 25 or until we receive 300 essays in each student category. That means one thing: Get your essays in now!

For more information, check out our Get Ready Scholarship page.

We’re looking forward to reading all of your great essays!

2013 Get Ready Scholarship opens Feb. 4!

Are you a high school, college or graduate student interested in emergency preparedness? Have we got a scholarship for you!

APHA’s Get Ready campaign is happy to announce that it is once again running its scholarship competition. Now in its fifth year, the essay contest will be open to high school seniors as well as full-time undergraduate and graduate college students.

Our essay questions this year focus on preparedness in schools, states and within the health work force. We start accepting entries on Monday, Feb. 4, but you can take a look at the essay topics now by visiting our scholarship page.

The scholarship contest will close on March 25, or when we receive 300 essays for each category. We receive hundreds of essays every year, which means that you should plan to write your essay early to be sure you get in.

The two best essays from each category will each win a $500 scholarship.

For complete rules, check the Get Ready Scholarship rules page.

To see a list of previous winners, and read parts of their essays, check out our Get Ready Scholarship past winners page.

We hope you’re ready to write, because we’re excited to read your creative essays!

Announcing the winners of our 2012 Get Ready Scholarship

Six students at the high school, undergraduate and graduate level have been chosen to receive scholarships in APHA’s fourth 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 write essays on various topics related to public health and preparedness. Out of hundreds of essays, the following six were chosen as winners:

High school level:
• Craig Earley: Powder River County District High School, Broadus, Mont.
• Devika Patel: Montclair Kimberley Academy, Parsippany, N.J.

Undergraduate level:
• Kiyra A. L. Crooks: University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas
• Ryan Masterson: Hunter College, New Haven, Conn.

Graduate level:
• Kimberley Kurek: George Mason University, School of Nursing, Washington, D.C.
• Nicole Pristera: Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio

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 thanks to every student who submitted an essay!

Get ready to enter our Get Ready Scholarship competition!

APHA is thrilled to once again offer its Get Ready Scholarship. In its fourth year, the competition is open to full-time students at the high school, undergraduate and graduate levels.

In the United States, 2011 was a year filled with disasters: Extreme temperatures in the South, devastating tornadoes and flooding in the Midwest and a rare earthquake and hurricane in the Northeast (in the same week, no less!). Combined with the many salmonella outbreaks and the listeria outbreak in cantaloupes, last year certainly taught us we must be prepared for emergencies.

It is in this spirit of preparedness that we challenge high school seniors, undergraduate students and graduate students to write essays for our Get Ready Scholarship. We’ll award two $500 scholarships in each category — that’s a total of six winners! Each winner will also receive a free APHA membership for one year.

Check out the essay topics for this year’s contest on our Get Ready Scholarship page, and then get ready to write! APHA will accept submissions starting Feb. 6 and the deadline closes March 26 — or until 300 submissions are accepted in each category. That means the deadline could close early, so be sure to prepare your essay soon.

For complete rules, check the Get Ready Scholarship Web page.

To see a list of previous winners, and read parts of their essays, check out our Get Ready Scholarship past winners page.

Happy preparing!