Student Leader Award and R&D Internship Winner

Jacqueline Botz, was a senior at the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, Texas when she won this award. A graduate of Chapman University, she is now pursuing her masters degree at The Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University which is a private music conservatory and preparatory school . As a high school student leader, she was involved in the design and operation of the first DEA Teen Leadership Academy with the Drug Enforcement Administration in Houston. This included designing a curriculum to teach her peer group about the DEA and its mission. Participants learned about the harmful effects drugs have on individuals and their communities. The content included the potential consequences of various street drugs on the human body. As a student leader R&D intern, Jacqueline along with student leaders at colleges in Texas and California will be studying the best messages that can be used to recruit and engage student community leaders across the country to tackle the seven leading causes of preventable death in children, youth, and adults in workforce years. Students are at great risk for poisoning from alcohol, prescription, and illegal drugs. They are at greater risk than other age groups for major non-vehicular trauma and as new drivers and operators of vehicles, they are at greater risk for being involved in or witnessing accidents for which they may need to deliver bystander care. As high school students transition from youth to young adulthood and bridge to their college years; they have very unique needs. The unique knowledge regarding high impact care hazards and the lifeline behaviors that can save lives in this age group can have a vital impact on these young people. We are proud to have had Jacqueline Botz on our student leadership team. At Chapman University, she mapped beaches to help identify the best locations for bystander rescue stations including Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) and Stop-the-Bleed kits.