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SCHOLARSHIPS
Because students frequently find it difficult to pursue an education leading to an environmental health career without some financial assistance, the National Association of Sanitarians / National Environmental Health Association has encouraged contribu- tions of scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students. One of the first cash scholarships was awarded to a public health student in Sanitary Science at the School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles. This scholarship was established by Lester A. Meis, Consultant Sanitarian with the Orkin Institute of Industrial Sanitation, Atlanta, Georgia. Meis had been the first graduate student under the tutelage of A. Harry Bliss. Meis stipulated that the award be based on overall consideration of academic accomplishment, personal attitude and aptitude and sincerity of interest in the field of environmental sanitation. The first recipient of this scholarship was Richard Davis of the class of June 1952. The National Association of Sanitarians established a Scholarship Committee in 1954 to administer the General Fred A. Safay Memorial Scholarship, a memorial to the 1950-51 president of the Association. The $1500 scholarship was available for graduate study to anyone who had been a member in good standing (of NAS) for a least one year. The committee selected the winning candidate and two alternates from those who had applied. Criteria for the scholarship included 1) score on basic environmental sanita- tion examination, 2) biography of the candidate, 3) a brief statement on " Why I Wish to Continue My Education in Public Health," and 4) evaluation of candidates by references. President Floyd M. Miller presented the first Fred A. Safay scholarship at the 19th Annual Educational Conference in Boston in 1955 to Nicholas Pohlit, a sanitarian with the Tri-County District Health Department in Aurora, Colorado, who was also presi- dent of the Colorado Section of NAS. General Safay served in Florida as a sanitarian for over 30 years. His last position before his death was Sanitarian Consultant with the Florida State Board of Health. He saw combat in two world wars. In World War II, he took part in the Italian invasion with the Florida National Guard, of which he had been Senior Major of Infantry prior to its mobilization for active duty. By the end of the war, he had advanced to the rank of Brigadier General. Few applications, for some reason, were received for the Safay scholarship given for graduate studies, and in 1957-58, the scholarship was made available to junior and senior students of sanitary science to assist them in their education. Any student who had completed the junior year as a scholarship recipient could then be renominated by a faculty advisor for another year. The amount of the scholarship had been lowered to $500 for a full school year. To qualify, a student had to choose an original project in the field of sanitation to be completed under the direction of a faculty advisor during the school year. A written report had to be presented at an Annual Educational Con- ference. If acceptable, it was then published in The Sanitarian. In 1971, Nicholas Pohlit, who was then executive director of NAS, announced the LaReine A. Hatch Memorial Scholarship for studies toward a bachelor's degree in Environmental Health. This scholarship, established by the Hatco Corporation of Milwaukee, Wisconsin to memorialize its late president, provided $500 toward tuition and fees for a student enrolled in an environmental health curriculum at an approved
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