Itasca, IL – In an effort to address the forecasted shortage of safety professionals in the workplace and bring awareness to careers in safety, the National Safety Council this year is awarding scholarships to seven students interested in the field.
The 2018 scholarship winners are:
- Isabella Green of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Florida (Women in Safety Scholarship)
- Adam Klebba of Oakland University in Michigan (Billy D. Young Memorial Scholarship)
- Salena Barnhill of Metropolitan Community College in Missouri (Congress & Expo Scholarship)
- Anna Breidt of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (Congress & Expo Scholarship)
- Thomas Coomes of the University of Central Oklahoma (Congress & Expo Scholarship)
- Susan Ronhaar of Oakland University in Michigan(Congress & Expo Scholarship)
- Leeroy Cienega of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (Congress & Expo Scholarship)
Each scholarship winner will attend the 2018 National Safety Council Congress & Expo in Houston, the world’s largest annual event dedicated to workplace safety. In addition, Green will receive a $5,000 academic scholarship that is renewable for up to four years, and Klebba will receive a $2,000 scholarship.
“We are thrilled to support future safety professionals by awarding these scholarships,” said Deborah A.P. Hersman, president and CEO of the National Safety Council. “We must continually recruit and encourage the next generation of safety experts; they are the future of the profession.”
Scholarship winners will write about their Congress & Expo experience, as well as how the scholarship will benefit their career in safety – or they can write about another safety-related topic. In addition, they will have the opportunity to partner with the Young Professional Division hosted by the Council to help guide their Congress & Expo experience.
The seven scholarship winners were chosen via selection committee and join past recipients of National Safety Council scholarships. The Congress & Expo Scholarship was first awarded in 2017, while the Billy D. Young Memorial Scholarship – funded by the Construction & Utilities Division – was resurrected this year after having been awarded multiple years in the past. The Women in Safety Scholarship, which helps celebrate women in safety, was first awarded this year.
Applications for 2019 scholarships can be submitted to the National Safety Council starting Oct. 1 and continuing through March 31.