Dec 10, 2024 — The Public Health Scholars Program (PHSP) at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH) is delighted to announce a new incoming cohort of PHSP Scholars.
In 2022, the Milken Institute SPH was awarded nearly $1.5 million by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to strengthen the public health workforce. The funding over three years supports a Public Health Scholars Program that provides full scholarships to students pursuing training in and a career in public health at local and state health departments.
During each year of the grant, full scholarships are awarded to 10 students pursuing a Master of Public Health (MPH) at the Milken Institute SPH. Through academic and supplemental programming, the program provides public health training and skill-building to prevent, prepare for, and respond to recovery activities related to COVID-19 and other public health emergencies.
The Milken Institute SPH has partnered with the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) to connect scholars with practice sites and career opportunities at local and state health departments that align closely with the scholars’ academic and professional goals and interests. Throughout the scholarship program, scholars have access to advising and mentoring, tailored electives; supplemental training in the areas of preparedness, policy and the social determinants of health and equity; monthly cohort forums, practice and career services support; and connectivity with NACCHO and its network of nearly 3,000 local health departments across the country.
“The HRSA grant enables the Milken Institute SPH to make even more of an impact in training the next generation of public health leaders. Our ability to reach and support the growth of the public health workforce in medically underserved areas across the country is unparalleled,” Jane Hyatt Thorpe, the Senior Associate Dean for Academic, Student & Faculty Affairs and Principal Investigator for the program, said. “With the implementation of this program, scholarship recipients can complete specific coursework that addresses novel but critical areas of public health and develop relationships with the school’s sizable network of community partners.”
“The program has provided several opportunities for learning new leadership skills and the importance of local and state health department work. It enhanced what I was learning in the classroom, and I enjoyed the focus on health inequities and social determinants of health,” said Katie Ghougasian from the program's first cohort.
“I feel more empowered to prioritize my future training/education and to take financial risks when necessary to follow my interests and serve communities where I can be most helpful. I am incredibly grateful to have participated in this program,” Claire Elizabeth Summa, also from the program’s first cohort.
The 2024 Milken Institute School of Public Health HRSA Public Health Scholars:
Jessica Cruz
Epidemiology
Department of Epidemiology
Madeline Eisman
Community Oriented Primary Care
Department of Prevention and Community Health
Lydia Enyew
Global Health Epidemiology and Disease Control
Department of Global Health
Maxine Eyeson
Humanitarian Health
Department of Global Health
Richard Holmberg
Public Health Nutrition
Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences
Lisa Luczak
Global Health Epidemiology and Disease Control
Department of Global Health
Ginny McGill
Public Health
MPH@GW
Madeline Reagan
Public Health
MPH@GW
Jewelle Stone
Biostatistics
Department of Biostatistics & Bioinformatics
Hanna Vallejos Duque
Public Health
MPH@GW