High school seniors who attend school and reside in the Upper Peninsula and plan to pursue studies in a health care-related field at a college or university next fall are invited to participate in an essay contest. The Northern Michigan University Center for Rural Health is coordinating the contest in partnership with the Michigan Center for Rural Health and the Literacy Legacy Fund of Michigan. The essay submission deadline is Sunday, Oct. 16.
Students are asked to limit their essays to 500 words or less and address the following topic: “Identify two ways that college and university students can contribute to efforts in any of the five key areas of social determinants of health: healthcare access and quality; education access and quality; social and community context; economic stability; or neighborhood and built environment.”
This is the third annual essay contest for U.P. high school leading up to National Rural Health Day on Nov. 17. Prizes will be awarded to the top-three finishers in each of three U.P. regions: Eastern, Central and Western. They are $500 for first place, $250 for second and $100 for third.
"We are hopeful that more high school seniors pursuing higher education in a health care-related field will enter this year's contest,” said Elise Bur, director of the NMU Center for Rural Health. “We've had some amazing entries over the past two years and it's inspiring and hopeful to gain insight and perspective from our future health care workforce. We are also grateful that the Literacy Legacy Fund of Michigan is joining our efforts as a sponsor this year, supporting six of the nine prizes."
Winners will be notified the second week in November and the first-place essays will be shared with students' hometown newspapers in the hope of being published on National Rural Health Day, which was established in 2010.