Scholarships for Students Who Are Improving Health Outcomes in Their Communities

EmPOWERED To Serve™ competition recognizes the contributions today’s youth are making to address barriers and solutions to healthy living and well-being in communities

Dallas, TX — The American Heart Association, the world’s leading voluntary health organization dedicated to building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke, is awarding financial scholarships to six students who are working to improve the health and well-being of their community or college campus.

According to research conducted by the Mayo Clinic, 40 percent of an individual’s health can be attributed to socioeconomic factors, 30 percent to healthy behaviors, 20 percent to medical care and 10 percent to the environment. That’s why the Association collaborates with organizations, businesses, entrepreneurs, and now youth, to create and identify solutions to our communities’ most complex social issues, ultimately impacting and improving health outcomes.

EmPOWERED To Serve Scholars

Through the EmPOWERED To Serve Scholars competition, which launched in January in recognition of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and the National Day of Service, the Association sought high school seniors and undergraduate college and university students who are actively striving to identify solutions to address the social determinants of health — the economic and social conditions in which people are born, grow, work and live — and how they impact risks for heart disease, stroke and high blood pressure.

From a high school senior who provides nutrition education to local youth to a future family nurse practitioner who conducts community-organized wellness checks, the six students who will receive $1,500 scholarships include:

* Ahmed Arasah aspires to become a physician and promote healthy living through community yoga instruction and will offer sessions to his classmates at Xavier University in New Orleans this spring.

* Michelle Ballasiotes is a student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill studying pre-health policy and management and advocates for corner grocery store owners to sell fresh, healthy foods.

* Jose Trinidad Muratella studies biochemistry at the University of Illinois at Chicago and spends his volunteer time at the Community Health Clinic teaching diabetes education courses.

* Avery Nelson, a freshman studying public policy at Pomona College in Claremont, Calif., helped launch an urban garden where families living in food deserts can harvest fresh fruit.

* Esmeralda Ochoa has her sights set on a family nurse practitioner career, and in between her studies at Chamberlain University in Addison, Ill., partners with the National Association of Hispanic Nurses to coordinate and conduct community wellness checks.

* Dorysel Sandoval, a senior at Sweetwater High School in National City, Calif., who interns and volunteers at a local nonprofit teaching youth in the community about urban agriculture and nutrition education.

About the American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is devoted to saving people from heart disease and stroke – the two leading causes of death in the world. They team with millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies and provide lifesaving tools and information to prevent and treat these diseases. The Dallas-based association is the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. To learn more or to get involved, call 1-800-AHA-USA1, visit www.heart.org or call any of our offices around the country. Follow them on Facebook and Twitter.