County, SDCOE Empower Teens to Become Public Health Advocates

Courtesy of the County of San Diego 

County Public Health Services recently teamed up with the San Diego County Office of Education to host the second annual Public Health Advocate Camp for high school students.

This year, 38 students attended the camp, marking a 10-student increase from last year’s attendance.

Watch students in action (KPBS)

“The goal of the camp is to inspire high school students to become advocates for public health in their communities, and learn about careers in Public Health,” said Dr. Ankita Kadakia, county interim public health officer.

The week-long camp, which took place July 15 to 19 at the Linda Vista Innovation Center, was designed to educate teens about health topics relevant to their age group.

During the camp, students learned about critical health issues and were actively engaged in creating their own public health campaigns to mirror the daily work of public health professionals.

Last year, a high school senior said about the program, “I’ve been thinking of going into the medical field, but also public health is something that I was looking into. It looks very interesting.”

She appreciated how a media campaign can keep the community safe.

“It was very enlightening to know that you can do something, even if it is very little. If you can just spread the information, a lot can happen,” she said.

This is the second year SDCOE has supported the program. 

“Our goal is to train the next generation of leaders in San Diego’s workforce," Alexander Becker, program specialist at SDCOE. "This program not only prepares students for high-growth, high-wage careers at one of our region’s top employers, but inspires them to consider how to improve conditions for our most marginalized communities.”

To participate, students go through a now-closed application process. The no-cost program is made possible through donations from County employees and the San Diego County Office of Education. Applications for next year’s camp will open next April and are shared through local schools.