HELENA – Carroll College students Karissa Dykstra and Courtney Schroeder were recently announced as recipients of the IMPACT Melanoma winter 2019 Your Skin Is In Ambassador scholarship program.
The Your Skin Is In program awards college students and high school seniors a $1,000 scholarship for becoming Your Skin Is In ambassadors at their respective schools. By taking a pledge to actively spread awareness of skin cancer, ambassadors make a strong and lasting impact on their campuses and communities by promoting education and risk prevention around this important public health issue. Karissa and Courtney were two of three students nationwide recognized with this honor.
"To be a Your Skin Is In ambassador, is to have the knowledge and capability to share the importance of being UV safe with my peers,” said senior health science major Courtney Schroeder of Livingston, Mont. “The Your Skin Is In program provides realistic and interactive information targeted at the young adult demographic, most at risk for sun damage."
In order to be considered for one of the program’s scholarships, each student needed to complete IMPACT Melanoma’s Your Skin Is In eLearning course, take the Your Skin Is In Pledge, encourage classmates and community members to do the same, and submit a written application outlining their accomplishments.
“For me, being an ambassador for the Your Skin Is In program means I am one step closer to changing how our society views health and beauty,” said junior health science major Karissa Dykstra of Bigfork, Mont. “Being a part of this program means that I can now spread awareness to how beautiful protecting your skin can be and embracing your imperfections.”
“Melanoma prevention and ongoing awareness really starts with our youth and positioning them as the spokespeople of this underlying movement,” said IMPACT Melanoma Executive Director, Deb Girard. “Our Your Skin Is In Ambassador program is an amazing resource to showcase students that are making a difference on their campuses and in their communities by helping to reduce the growing incidences of skin cancer around the country.”
Dykstra and Schroeder were also instrumental in Carroll College being awarded the Skin Smart Campus Platinum Award by the National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention during the Council’s fall conference in Washington, DC. The award recognizes Carroll’s commitment to ensuring the well-being of our students by providing a safe, healthy learning and living environment on and off campus. Carroll pledges to keep indoor tanning devices off of our campus and out of our affiliated buildings, and also promotes skin cancer prevention and sun safety education.
IMPACT Melanoma provides education, prevention, and support for the most serious form of skin cancer. They are a national non-profit organization dedicated to working to reduce the incidence of melanoma. Committed to skin cancer prevention and early detection, IMPACT Melanoma provides a variety of award-winning programs which aim to raise awareness and educate the public about skin cancer, as well as support services for those struggling with the disease.