These awards honor public health professionals, students and leaders in the field.
Trong D. Nguyen Memorial Award
Established to recognize the significant leadership contribution of a student in public health or a related field. The award, officially established in April 2007 by the APHA Student Assembly leadership in memory of Trong D. Nguyen, will be presented annually by the APHA Student Assembly.
Trong D. Nguyen, MHA, joined the government of Canada in 1991 and spent much of his public service career at Health Canada and in the Public Health Agency of Canada where he was devoted to policy issues related to environmental health, product safety, quarantine and migrant, health security, bioterrorism, emergency preparedness and response, public health system renewal, Canada-U.S. relations, and was a manager of strategic policy and planning.
Trong’s career was left unfinished as he and his daughter were killed in a tragic automobile crash in February 2006. Trong had studied health administration at the University of Ottawa, where he received the Robert Wood Johnson Award for the student most likely to contribute valuable service to the health administration discipline. While a doctoral student in health policy at the University of North Carolina School of Public Health, Trong was a founding member of the Public Health Student Caucus, the organization that later became the APHA Student Assembly. He was an active member of APHA until the time of his death and a member of the Ottawa Hospital Research Ethics Board and served as director and webmaster for the National Capital Region Chapter of the Institute of Public Administration of Canada. Trong was a quiet but determined leader with a great sense of humor and a fantastic appetite for life.
Under the terms established for the Nguyen Award, the Student Assembly will recognize one student who has made a significant leadership contribution in the field of public health. This can be at any school or at any organization at the national, state, or local level. Neither academic credentials nor grades will be a factor in selecting the awardees. Nominees will be judged by a committee of reviewers based on a personal essay about their public health leadership accomplishment and at least one letter of recommendation. Nominees must be enrolled full time in an academic program in public health or a related field, and be a student member of APHA at nomination due date.
The award consists of a plaque, one-year APHA membership, Annual Meeting registration, and a $250 stipend for travel and lodging to attend the APHA Annual Meeting. The nomination form will open in March and award winners will be notified in July.
Eligibility requirements:
- Applicants must be a student member of APHA by application due date
- Applicants must be enrolled full time in an academic program in public health/related field OR enrolled part-time in an academic program and employed at a public health organization at the national, state, or local level OR have graduated in Spring 2025 (or more recently)
A.C.T.I.O.N. Grant
The scholarship/grant program entitled A.C.T.I.O.N. (Advocacy on Campuses that Impacts Our Nation) is an opportunity for all students in public health and related disciplines to design grassroots advocacy projects. This grant program aims to motivate public health students to create and implement plans for raising public health advocacy on their campuses and in their communities. The top submission nationally will be granted $500 to implement their project during the spring of 2025, preferably during National Public Health Week.
If you have questions, please contact Student Assembly Action Committee Co-Chairs Alec Macartney and Ruhun Wasata.
Friend of the Student Assembly Award
Awarded annually to an individual or organization that has been very influential in the success of Student Assembly activities, programs or initiatives. Nominations and award recipients are made by the Student Assembly Board.
Winners will be presented with the award during the Student Assembly Welcome and Orientation Session on Sunday during the Annual Meeting.
Lyndon Haviland Public Health Mentoring Award
Recognizes the essential role of mentoring in public health and leadership development. It is given annually to senior public health practitioners or academics who take an active role in mentoring students and young professionals through regular contact, professional development, research support or joint publications.
The winner will receive an honorarium of $500, a commemorative plaque, travel allowance, and complementary registration to the next APHA Annual Meeting and Expo. A committee will convene in August to decide the winner and a news release will be issued in January.
Outstanding Student Abstract
Every year, the Student Assembly executive council selects the strongest abstract submitted for presentation at the Annual Meeting, and recognizes the author with the Outstanding Student Abstract Award. All authors submitting abstracts through the Student Assembly are eligible. Award recipients receive a plaque, registration costs for the APHA Annual Meeting, and a $250 travel stipend. Award winners will be notified in July.
Student Assembly Chair’s Citation
Established to recognize the significant leadership contribution of a student in public health or a related field to the Student Assembly as a member of its Board. The award was officially established in November 2011 by then APHA Student Assembly Chair Cameron Culver, and is presented annually by the APHA Student Assembly.
Neither academic credentials nor grades will be a factor in selecting the awardee(s). Nominees will be judged by the current chair, chair-elect and immediate past chair of the Student Assembly based on their commitment and contribution to the Student Assembly Board. Nominees must be either a student or early-career professional member of APHA and a member of the Student Assembly Board at the time of consideration.
The award consists of a plaque and registration to attend the next APHA Annual Meeting and Expo. The recipient will be honored at the APHA Student Assembly Welcome and Orientation Session on Sunday during the Annual Meeting. Award winners will be notified in July.
