Nearly 40 high school juniors and seniors are taking time off from their summer vacation to be part of a one week public health advocate camp at the Linda Vista Innovation Center. It’s a collaboration between the San Diego County Office of Education and County Public Health Services.
The students are learning about public health career options and topics such as mental health, sexually transmitted diseases and tuberculosis, said Marti Brentnall, TB prevention coordinator for the county.
“They learn about the data, health inequities that impact these issues. And then talk about what type, how they can solve issues, especially about their peer group,” she said.
Brentnall said the program aims to empower students to become advocates for public health in their communities.
“We want them to take it back not only to their peers, which is the most important group, but also to their families and others that might not have this information that they're learning. And then everyone in their family, everyone, their peers, have a better understanding of these public health topics,” Bretnall said.
The students are broken up into groups and create their own public health campaigns. Some design social media messages. Others design stickers and t-shirts.
Jesse Altamirano is a junior at Crawford High School. He’s in the HPV group.
“So we’re studying how the vaccine can prevent that. Kind of get the message out to parents who might be hesitant to give their kids the vaccine,” he said.
Jesse said he wants to explore careers in public health where he can combine his love for sports and his culture.
“As ... a young Latino man, I want to see other Latino men in a field we’re not really as represented. And I want to be that example, you know?”
The program is free and will run again next summer. Applications for public and charter high school students will open in April 2025.
As camp comes to an end, Jesse said he’s leaving with a valuable lesson.
“Your health is always something you should take seriously. And I want to make sure that me, my peers, and just generally people in my generation know to take that seriously, especially with what we’ve been through with the pandemic.”
