May 6, 2004

CONTACT: Gordon Ovenshine (724) 738-4854; e-mail: gordon.ovenshine@sru.edu

For photo of Bethany Hemlock and her adviser Dr. Mark Shotwell, professor of biology at SRU: CLICK HERE

MEADVILLE’S BETHANY HEMLOCK ONE OF TWO CIVILIANS IN NATION

ACCEPTED INTO PRESTIGIOUS PUBLIC HEALTH GRADUATE PROGRAM

-- MAJORED IN BIOLOGY AT SLIPPERY ROCK UNIVERSITY

           SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Only one other civilian in the country holds up to the graduate school plans of Slippery Rock University senior Bethany Hemlock, of Meadville. She is one of two civilians accepted into the Master of Public Health Program at Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, a prestigious program usually reserved for military personnel.

Hemlock received a full scholarship valued at $30,000 to $40,000 a year, said Janet Anastasi of the graduate education office at USU, located on the grounds of the U.S. Naval Hospital in Bethesda, Md.

Hemlock graduates from SRU May 8 with a 3.9 grade-point average. She majored in biology and received the Joseph S. and Eva Puntureri Memorial Science Scholarship during her senior year. The $1,000 scholarship is awarded annually to a student majoring in natural sciences, mathematics, computer science or environmental health and safety.

 Her undergraduate record, graduate school entrance examination scores and letters of recommendation from Meadville Medical Center, where she worked during summers, got her into USU, Anastasi said. USU enrolled 30 military personnel into the master’s program for fall 2004.

“I’m pleased and happy to go there,” Hemlock said. “It’s going to be a whole new world.”

Formed by Congress

Established  by the U.S. Congress in 1972, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences educates healthcare leaders for the Army, Navy and Air Force.  Students enroll in the School of Medicine, Graduate School of Nursing, master of public health or doctor of public health programs.

           Hemlock, who aspires to a career in research, health promotion or disease prevention, learned of the program on the Internet. She hopes to conduct research on HIV/AIDS in Africa,  tropical diseases in South America or in less developed sections of the United States.

           “USU really stood out as a school that knew what it was doing in the public health field,” she said. “They are able to combine both the science of biology and its research with basic principles of public health. Those two aspects were what I was looking for in a school.”

Uniqueness of military medicine

           Military medicine focuses on prevention, diagnoses and treatment by medical personnel who are part of military operations. It requires a solid background in tropical medicine and hygiene, an understanding of parasites and knowledge of the psychological stresses of combat and trauma.