Recipients Announced for Helen P. Cleary Scholarship Opportunity for Health Education Students

WHITEHALL, Pa. - May 30, 2019 - PRLog -- The National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc., (NCHEC) has announced the names of three recipients for the Helen P. Cleary Scholarship.  The newly instituted award was designed to assist full-time undergraduate or graduate students with the fees associated with the Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES®) examination. Applicants for this award were to demonstrate both financial need and a passion for their chosen field of Health Education and Promotion during their academic careers. NCHEC sponsored this scholarship opportunity, and the awards process was administered by the Society for Public Health Education, Inc. (SOPHE) Awards Committee.

The names of the scholarship recipients are:  Samantha Posada; Katherine Drewiske; and Kimberly Pierre.

Samantha Posada is an undergraduate at Rutgers University New Brunswick Campus seeking a degree in Public Health, with a certificate in Public Health Advocacy and Education. She has previously received the Mary Ann and Steven J. Allard Fellowship, and is a member of Eta Sigma Gamma National Public Health Honors Society. In regards to achieving this Helen P. Cleary Scholarship, Ms. Posada has said, "I am sure that the opportunities that will be provided for me once attaining my CHES® certification will enable me to continue my passion of education thus; better optimize my current understanding of health issues going on in today's society, become more well-rounded as a potential healthcare professional and ultimately push me closer to creating a healthier world for today's society and future generations to come."

Katherine Drewiske is an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin –La Crosse who will receive her Bachelors of Science in Public Health/Community Health Education in the spring of 2019. She has received the Gall/Rada Distinguished Alumni Award Fellowship for 2018/2019 for her outstanding work with the Chapina Bonita Smoke-Free Stove Project in Guatemala this spring. According to Ms. Drewiske, "I am passionately driven by public health and its ability to influence peoples' ideas of wellness through education and advocacy. I believe obtaining CHES® certification will open the door for career opportunities to show future employers and community partners others that I am reputable health educator."

Kimberly Pierre is an MPH student at the Rutgers School of Public Health and will graduate in January of 2020. She was previously selected as a Rutgers School of Public Health 21^st Century Scholar. "As I am growing into my career as a public health worker, I not only intend on impacting communities in America, but I also plan on improving the health of communities internationally as well," said Ms. Pierre. "Earning my CHES® will help pave the way for me to achieve the goals I have instilled upon myself to accomplish. I began this statement with a quote from a famous activist, "be the change you want to see in the world," and I want to start this change with me."

The Helen P. Cleary Scholarship was launched in March of 2019, in conjunction with NCHEC's 30^th Anniversary celebration. NCHEC is commemorating the significant milestones achieved over the past three decades, including the continued delineation of the core competencies for CHES® and MCHES® over many different practice settings through a new practice analysis study, the administration of tens of thousands of certification exams across the country, as well as transition from a paper-based examination to an enhanced computer-based testing format with international reach.

The next application period for the Helen P. Scholarship will open in November 2019, for the April 2019 CHES® examination.  For more information about the Helen P. Cleary Scholarship, please visit www.nchec.org/scholarships, or www.sophe.org.

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Established in 1988, NCHEC is the only accredited U.S. certifying agency for the health education/promotion industry. NCHEC is a highly recognized and well respected credentialing organization administering two professional credentialing programs including the CHES®, designed for entry-level health education specialists, and the MCHES®, targeted to advanced-level practitioners. For more information about NCHEC's certification programs, visit www.nchec.org/overview.

The Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) is a nonprofit professional organization founded in 1950  to provide global leadership to the profession of health education and health promotion and to promote the health of society. SOPHE's 4,000 international and chapter members work in various public and private organizations to advance health education theory and research, develop disease prevention and health promotion programs, and promote public policies conducive to health. For more information, visit www.sophe.org.