In early March of this year, 30 graduate and undergraduate students from the department had the opportunity to attend the 14th Annual Health Education Advocacy Summit in Washington, D.C. sponsored by the Coalition of National Health Education Organizations, among others. Through a competitive application process, these students received Health Science scholarships for flight and hotel expenses.

The purpose of the summit is to train participants to effectively advocate for policies that promote public health. Each year, summit organizers decide on key health policy priorities. These priorities become the focus for appropriation advocacy. This year’s priorities included appropriation funding for programs such as CDC’s DASH, REACH, and retaining the prevention provisions of the Affordable Care Act.

After two days of training, students met with House Representatives and Senators from their home states. They shared with the Congressmen and women the importance of the key priorities and related success stories from their states.

Aside from the training and advocacy work, students had some time for sightseeing Washington, D.C. and exploring a myriad of restaurants. The students enjoyed the experience and the chance they had to share their passion of public health with our nation’s lawmakers.

Below is a slideshow of the pictures students took while in Washington, D.C.

If you are interested in participating in the next summit, watch for a department email in late November or early December. You can also visit the department office (221 RB) in late November to find out when applications are due. Juniors, seniors, graduate students, and BYU Public Health Association members are given preference. You can visit the SOPHE website for more information about advocacy and the annual summit.  You can also read an article written about the DC Summit in the Life Sciences magazine.