Supporting Students and Young Professionals
By Dan McCormick, MHA | November 17, 2014
One of the finest moments for me with ETR’s Kirby Summer Interns last year was the time one of them said, “I love being an intern at ETR! I still can’t believe I get to be here. I have friends doing internships where they just go and sit in meetings, or they do filing. I am doing real work here. I’m analyzing data. I’m contributing to a manuscript. I am learning how to be a stronger professional. This is amazing.”
I’m delighted this young woman had such a positive experience here. Her robust praise relates directly to the commitment of ETR’s staff to collaboration and mutual support. Our research group—from senior scientists to newly hired research assistants—stepped up to welcome and engage our interns. These students became a vital part of our workforce during their three months here.
This reflects a larger commitment ETR feels to the importance of supporting students and young professionals in the health education and research arena. It is one of hte best ways to contribute to the ongoing revitalization of the profession—and of our organization.
We are also proud to be joining with the American Public Health Association (APHA) in recognizing some of the outstanding work being done by students in public health. ETR is sponsoring this year’s “Outstanding Student Abstract Award,” presented at the upcoming APHA annual meeting by the School Health Education Section of the Association.
After a rigorous and competitive review process, Kristina Knight, MPH, is being presented with the prize. The Case Western Reserve student’s abstract was “Local Health Departments as Partners in School Health: A State-Wide Assessment of Collaboration for Coordinated School Health.”
Congratulations, Kristina! We look forward to watching your continued success in school health.
By the way, applications for the 2015 Kirby Summer Internship are now open. The deadline is February 28, 2015. Find more information here.
Dan McCormick is CEO of ETR. You can contact him at dan.mccormick@etr.org, or find him on LinkedIn.
