Zainab Yaseen, a master of public health student at the University of Illinois Springfield, received the national award for best master’s-level abstract at the American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting and Expo 2024.

The conference, held Oct. 27-30 in Minneapolis, brought together more than 13,000 public health professionals from over 40 countries under the theme “Rebuilding Trust in Public Health and Science.”

The Evelyn Zimmerman Scholarship program made possible through a generous $18,000 gift from the estate of Evelyn Zimmerman, is designed to support and honor students who are dedicated to the field of Public Health. Mrs. Evelyn Zimmerman's philanthropic legacy has a strong connection to the spirit of nursing in outreach, and her vision for supporting education in Public Health is at the heart of these scholarships. Her gift has created an immense opportunity for students in the Master of Public Health (MPH) program at UIS.

Nationality: Nigeria
Majors: Environmental Health (MPH)

The University of Illinois Springfield’s master’s degree in public health (MPH) has received accreditation from the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH). This is the first time in the 32-year history of the program that it has received national accreditation.

I earned my general MPH degree in May 2012, and although I did not focus on environmental health, I think my education and experiences still suited me well for the sanatarian position at Peoria City/County Health Department. I was a GPSI while completing my MPH and that helped a great deal with understanding the role of a local health department and my current role as a bureaucrat.

I completed my undergraduate degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences – Psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign in 2008.  After graduation I worked for two years at a community mental health center in Springfield, I was very fortunate to be accepted and began my MPH degree in Fall 2010, with an internship at the Illinois Department of Public Health in Newborn Hearing Screening.

Shane Stephens earned her MPH degree in the fall of 2012. She is now the Assistant Director of Wellness Programming and Assessment for East Carolina University-Campus Recreation in Greenville, North Carolina.  Some of her job duties include leading the development, implementation and evaluation of all health education programs; recruiting, training and supervising undergraduate students hired as campus wellness leaders; and representing the ECU campus community on local and regional health related organizations.  Congratulations, Shane!

Cassandra Bernardi has recently been hired as a Program Coordinator for Healthy Child Care America at the American Academy of Pediatrics. She says it is a federal grant funded position that works with other human service agencies to improve health and well being in out-of-home child care settings. Cassandra’s previous experience as a program coordinator in addition to her MPH degree have made her a good fit for the position.