On behalf of the New York State College Health Association (NYSCHA), Kathleen Valerio, Health Educator and Peer Education Program Coordinator with the Center for Prevention and Outreach at Stony Brook University, presented the NYSCHA Outstanding Student Group 2013-2104 Award to the Student Health Advisory Committee (SHAC) at an awards dinner on Campus May 12. In addition, SHAC member Yi Wan Wu received the NYSCHA Outstanding Student Award.
“With more than 500 colleges and universities in New York State, it is an honor to recognize this SHAC cohort as the fourth to receive this prestigious recognition,” said Valerio, who is also the SHAC Student Group Advisor. “It is also the third time a SHAC student leader has been recognized for exemplar contributions to student health outcomes during my tenure.”
SHAC was recognized by NYSCHA for its efforts in creating the SBU Kicks Butts (to see video, click here) program, for promoting awareness of Green Tobacco Sickness (a type of poisoning that occurs when nicotine from the surface of wet tobacco plants is absorbed into the skin), and for helping to get SBU student support for Tobacco-Free SUNY (more than 1,150 students signed a petition supporting this initiative).
Yi Wan Wu received the Outstanding Student Award for leading the SHAC Wellness Fair, which provided confidential, no-cost HIV and STI/STD testing as well as oral health screening to detect early signs of oral cancer, and the opportunity to be swabbed for the Bone Marrow Registry. She was also recognized for her volunteer work at Stony Brook University Hospital and Cancer Center. Yi Wan is leading the SBU student volunteer effort for the June 8 National Cancer Survivors Day.
PJ Tedeschi, from the American Lung Association of the Northeast and Tobacco Action Coalition, and Legislator Kara Hahn attended the awards dinner along with Dean of Students Jerrold Stein and Dr. Rachel Bergeson, Medical Director for Student Health Service at Stony Brook.
About SHAC
Stony Brook University’s SHAC is the primary avenue for student and campus community input into planning, delivery and evaluation of health, counseling and prevention services. SHAC contributes to and enhances the services provided by the Student Health Service as well as the Center for Prevention and Outreach and the Counseling and Psychological Services Units. SHAC is actively involved in reviewing the Student Health Fee budget and has recommended programs, services and initiatives that best meet students’ needs. SHAC represents students’ healthcare concerns, assists professional staff in formulating and developing health and mental health initiatives, promotes health and wellness education and disease prevention, and provides consultation to the University Administration about the Student Health Fee.
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