Doctoral student Amanda Cruce's (pictured far right) team came in first in this year's Allegheny Case Competition.
Cruce shares: "With COVID and 2 years of being virtual, I was excited to see the information about Allegheny Case Conference and enroll. Participating in something that uses all of my public health, social work, and social skills sounded like something that was just up my alley. Over the 3 day conference (Thursday - Saturday) we had a briefing from some of the county's top officials in health and human services, community partners, and health insurance plans. At the end of the briefing, students are provided a topic to "SOLVE." This year's topic was to propose a novel solution that improves health and quality of life for county residents using the social determinants of health. My team worked late into the night, for about 15 hours spread over the 2 days, to develop our solution to poor indoor air quality. We were able to combine our skills in public health, social work, data analytics, and public policy to create a comprehensive air quality program using civic participation, community engagement, and educational interventions. After 2 rounds of presentations, our team won 1st place. We met the Director of the Health Department, Director of Health and Human Services, and many community partner CEOs. It was a wonderful experience to be engaged in our community, to connect with professionals who are impacting public health, and work on county-wide issues in a unique way. I highly encourage people to participate next year!"