First Place
William Carson, PhD student in Health Promotion Science
Topic: IndigiWellbeing™: Pilot of a wellbeing program grounded in Indigenous culture
Statement:
I am a member of Ohkay Owingeh interested in self-determination for Indigenous people. I first grew interested in public health when I lived in South Carolina and saw the differences in how certain areas of the state looked depending on the healthcare offered there. After taking a class on the history of public health during my undergrad studies, I fell in love with the field. I was also involved in my college's Indigenous student body, and I felt that I could mesh my interest in public health with my biracial identity to make an impact. Community level changes in both policy and programming are necessary to decrease health disparities that are seen in marginalized communities, and public health is the perfect medium to affect these areas.  Eventually, I hope to use translational science to take critical public health research and craft policy at the tribal, local, state, and federal level to best help Indigenous people.

Second Place
Kerry Johnson, MPH student in Health Behavior Health Promotion
Topic: THRIVE! Community Assessment of San Luis Teen Pregnancy, STI, and Optimal Health
Statement:
My background in social services, nonprofits, and international community development in Central and South America led me to pursue my MPH. I am passionate about addressing the social, structural, and environmental factors that influence a community's health outcomes, such as clean water, food security, education and employment. Specifically, I believe building systems that promote health equity and increased access to care for underserved populations is a basic human right and my responsibility as a public health professional. I hope to work in a rural health department after graduation to support programming, funding and policies to improve access to care and other services for these communities.

Third Place
Likith Surendra, MD student in the UArizona College of Medicine – Phoenix
Topic: Narcan Distribution and Education Initiative for Phoenix's Homeless Population
Statement:
Seeing the disparities in access to health services and basic resources that are prevalent in our community, I am driven to engage with vulnerable populations and help address these disparities. Specifically, I have worked with people experiencing homelessness over the past few years and learned about the needs of this population. Through Street Medicine Phoenix, my team and I provide medical services and resources directly to unsheltered individuals on the streets. It saddens me that people in our own backyards are suffering without access to basic resources, and I am motivated to do what I can as a medical student and future physician to help them. I aspire to become a physician that improves people’s health and quality of life, empowers people to take charge of their own health, and engages in initiatives that benefit people in need in my community.

First Place
Sohail Daulat, physiology undergraduate, UArizona College of Medicine – Tucson
Topic: Evaluation of Educational Material for Low Literacy Populations
Statement:
Public Health raises my awareness about the barriers that communities face and the cyclical nature of worsening inequities. As a future health professional, I want to have a greater understanding of these barriers, so that I can build stronger relations with my patients and have a more knowledgeable background. Additionally, I want increase access to resources, such as health care, education, and technology, for underserved communities. I aspire to become a surgeon without borders, to be able to practice medicine and conduct surgeries in communities where they cannot afford the procedure or lack access to a surgical clinic.

Second Place
Erika Austhof, MPH, Epidemiology PhD student
Topic: Health and economic benefits are motivations for individual climate action
Statement:
I believe that public health is the best way to make the largest positive impact on the health and wellness of greatest number of people, and I’m passionate about using the tools of public health to improve lives. Looking ahead, I plan to run my public health consulting business, Aengle Consulting, full time once I graduate. At Aengle I support public health organizations and professionals to make effective and empowered decisions using their data.

Third Place
Priyanka Ravi, PhD student in Health Behavior Health Promotion
Topic: From isolation to vaccination: School health staff pandemic experiences in Pima County, Arizona
Statement:
I developed an interest in public health during my rural outreach activities. I found public health can be a very effective approach to address disparities and to improve the access to health care in disadvantaged populations and among rural communities. I would like to work on global health and cancer health disparity in lower-middle income countries.