ALEXANDRIA, VA – The Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) is proud to announce that Libby Washburn and Sarah Frerker will be awarded the 21st Century Student Scholarships during the 2026 SOPHE Annual Conference in Portland, April 22-24.
“I feel very lucky and appreciative to receive this award,” said Washburn, an undergraduate student studying health science at Truman State University. “I am grateful to be able to attend this conference and connect with public health professionals.”
“I felt immensely grateful to recieve the 21st Century Student Scholarship,” said Frerker, an undergraduate student studying health science at Truman State University. “This award allows me to have the opportunity to learn and make connections with a diverse group of public health professionals. The knowledge I will gain will help me in the future as a health educator as I learn how to design evidence based, community driven interventions that promote equity and change.
This scholarship provides financial support to full-time undergraduate and graduate-level students to attend the SOPHE Annual Conference or the SOPHE Advocacy Summit.
Recipients may use the scholarship to cover costs associated with travel, accommodations, event registration, meals and incidentals to the conference or Summit.
Students who receive this scholarship help SOPHE build a strong pipeline of health education leaders with the skills to address today’s health challenges. They are eligible for a scholarship if:
- They are sponsored by a faculty member in the student’s program. The faculty member must be a current member of national SOPHE.
- They are a national or chapter SOPHE member in good standing at the time of application.
- They have not received a scholarship in the past two years. Preference is given to students who have never received this award.
SOPHE will present all awards and scholarships to public health professionals, health education researchers, faculty, programs, and practitioners at the 2026 SOPHE Annual Conference in April in Portland. These awards and scholarships recognize significant advancements in the profession of health education and health promotion and outstanding contributions of well-established and rising stars to improving the public’s health.
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About SOPHE
The Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) is a nonprofit association that supports leaders in public health, health education and promotion to advance healthy and equitable communities across the globe. SOPHE members work in health care settings, communities, organizations, schools, universities, worksites, and in local, state and federal government agencies. For more information visit www.sophe.org.
