Jackson Bensley is a SOPHE Collegiate Champion and community health education undergraduate at Central Michigan University.

Bensley dedicates his time as a Collegiate Champion to helping his peers learn about SOPHE, become active members, and to connect the dots to professional development and networking.

During the 2018 Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) Conference I had the opportunity to present a research poster that I co-authored with members of my family. This was possible because there are 5 Bensley’s in health education and global health spanning 3 generations. Having this many members of one family working together on a research project is unique. The project used a preexisting data set to examine the relationships between parental job loss or absenteeism and childhood mental health issues defined as depression, anxiety, or reported extreme unhappiness. Our findings were significant and we are hoping to submit for publication soon.

“Being able to attend the SOPHE conference as a presenter helped me grow professionally and gave me a rare opportunity as an undergraduate student.”

I also helped present the Michigan Trifecta Poster at the Eta Sigma Gamma(ESG) poster display as the President of Eta Chapter at Central Michigan University(CMU). During these display sessions, I was able to talk with students about ESG, local SOPHE chapters, and the benefits of being a national member. Finally, I wrote an ESG Travel grant so members of my chapter could afford the trip. This $500 grant was approved for attending CMU students.

*Application information for the Collegiate Champion program for the next academic year will be announced Summer 2018 and open to SOPHE Student members.