Rural Health Essay Competition Open to UP 2nd Level Students | News, sports, jobs

MARQUETTE – High school seniors who attend school and live in the Upper Peninsula and plan to pursue a degree in the health care field at a college or university are invited to participate in an essay contest. Northern Michigan University’s Center for Rural Health is coordinating the contest in partnership with the Michigan Center for Rural Health and the Michigan Legacy Literacy Fund. The deadline for essay submissions is Sunday, October 16.

Students are asked to limit their essays to 500 words or less and address the following topics: “Identify two ways that college and university students can contribute to efforts to address five key social health issues: access and quality of health care; access and quality of education; social and community context; economic stability; or neighborhoods and the built environment.”

This is the third annual Essay Contest for UP Secondary Schools on November 17th, National Rural Health Day. Prizes will be awarded to the top-three finishers in each of the three UP regions: Eastern, Central and Western. First place is $500, second place is $250, and third place is $100.

“We hope that high school students who are pursuing higher education related to health will enter this competition.” Elise Burr, director of the NMU Rural Health Center, said. “We’ve had some amazing entries over the past two years and it’s encouraging and promising to get insights and perspectives from our future healthcare workforce. We are also grateful to the Michigan Literacy Legacy Fund for joining our efforts as a sponsor this year, supporting six of the nine awards.

Winners will be notified in the second week of November, with the intention of being published on National Rural Health Day, established in 2010, and the first-place articles will be shared with students’ hometown newspapers.