Global Public Health Students Shine at College Park Scholars Academic Showcase

On May 3, 2013, four hundred and sixty-nine College Park Scholars presented posters about their capstone practica at the 17^th Annual Academic Showcase. Of these, 66 were students from the Global Public Health Scholars program, which is sponsored by the School of Public Health and directed by Dr. Elisabeth Fost Maring, research associate professor in the Department of Family Science. Twelve of the Global Public Health scholars are majors in the School of Public Health (SPH).

English major Brianna Conyers presents to SPH's Dr. Colleen Farmer.

Students' practicum experiences ranged from studying abroad and service learning locally and abroad; to research in laboratories; internships at hospitals and NGOs; and mentoring youth with tutoring programs.

Kinesiology major Sarah Jenkins (pictured below) worked with SPH faculty and graduate students to plan and facilitate a screening of the documentary, “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide” and continued her effort to introduce the “movement” to the University of Maryland community for her practicum. 

                              

Dr. Maring (left) with Sarah Jenkins (center) and graduate assistant
Krishna Bhagat (right), a doctoral student in
behavioral and community health

Several students traveled to India on study abroad programs led by SPH faculty. Charles Milrod, an Environmental Science and Technology major, traveled with Dr. Maring to India in June 2012. He conducted interviews with doctors and patients in the local hospitals to examine biofuel and lung cancer risk in the community. He then continued his research project by working with Dr. Amir Sapkota in the Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health.

 One Kinesiology student, Nikita Mehta, who traveled to India with Dr. Donna Howard in January 2013, titled her poster, “Wanderlust in India: Discovering Public Health Abroad."

Cell Biology major Ira Herniter presents his poster to SPH Dean Jane E. Clark.

Maria Velasquez, a Family Science major, became part of a research team exploring illustrations of health and healthy bodies by children. She examined the implications for global public health research and education.

School of Public Health Dean Jane E. Clark, who attended the Annual Academic Showcase for the first time, commented, “You should be very proud of the work the students are doing... impressive!”

SPH students in Global Health Scholars include:

Family Science: Maria Velasquez

Kinesiology: Cecilia Akintonde, Kenitra Alston, Sarah Jenkins, Brooks Leitner, Jennifer Macko, Nikita Mehta, and Julian Vesnovsky           

Community Health: Eman Faris, Carly Momorella, Rebecca Shnitkin, and Aisha Hussain  

Editor's Note: College Park Scholars, a competitive, two-year living-learning program for talented freshmen and sophomores, uses a curriculum of exclusive courses and active learning and study abroad opportunities, field trips, and team-oriented projects to engage students inside and outside of the classroom. Each student is invited into Scholars and chooses to participate in one of its 11 programs. Each student finishes the program by writing a synthesis paper and formally presenting a poster at the Annual Academic Showcase. Upon completion, students earn a citation on their transcript.