ANN GEORGE
DR. KENNETH HARTMAN
SHIRLEY DUBE
ZACHIE “LORI MARIE” PRIMEAUX-COLEMAN
Paige & Eden Cornell Pirog
Keleigh Edwards
Liz Cochran
Liz Cochran is truly concerned with the “matters of the heart.” This 21 year-old beauty has not only found success in the arts and beauty pageants, but she has also used her Miss Alabama platform to increase cardiovascular awareness and disease prevention through her organization With Every Beat.
Liz began her mission of informing the young and old about the importance of cardiovascular help when her young dance instructor died due to a heart condition. This tragedy became very personal for Liz provoking her to do something.
After competing three years for the title of Miss Alabama, Liz Cochran finally won the title crown in June 2009. But after the death of her dance instructor, Liz’s focused quickly changed from becoming a professional dancer and becoming a one-time beauty queen to becoming a cardiologist. Instead of completely giving up her pageant goals and literally focusing on “matters of the heart,” Liz decided to continue with her beauty pageant ambitions and use the platform to increase cardiovascular awareness.
As a result, this Birmingham-Southern College senior began her mission by speaking at schools in her home state of Alabama, a state weighed down with the obesity crisis. At the schools, Liz stresses the importance of proper nutrition and exercise to students. Her theory is that if you teach them while they’re young, when they’re older, living a healthy habit will be a natural habit.
She also puts on dance showcases in which high school dance troops from the Jefferson & Shelby Counties of Alabama participate demonstrating the results of living healthy. During the event, she gives statistics on heart disease and how to prevent them.
But Liz still hasn’t stopped or slowed down. She has also launched a children’s book The Quest to a Healthy Heart, and her own website containing links to the American Heart Association, The Center for Disease Control and USDA Food & Information Center. Liz Cochran has truly followed her heart in turning tragedy into a life-long inspiration for living healthily.
Dr. Philip Edlin
Candida Desjardins
The Naval Undersea Warfare Center (Newport Division) is solidifying America’s future by educating our young about the endless possibilities of having a career in engineering and science. Eliminating the gap between science and our youth is an imperative step in solidifying America’s future within the global economy.
With help from the Chief of Naval Operations, the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division of Newport developed formal Mathematics and Science Educational Outreach Program. The mission of this program is to do the following: 1) increase student awareness of real-world science and engineering, 2) develop a pipeline of scientists and engineers for the future workforce, and 3) increase student and public awareness of Division Newport. But their main goal is to spark the interest of students in science and engineering solidifying a future career for them in the subjects of science and engineering. Statistics show that in Rhode Island alone only 3% of high school graduates choose engineering as a major.
What begins as simple experiments with sound, buoyancy and electromagnets can quickly turn into mentorships within the more complex subjects that use mathematics, chemistry and physics. Beginning with underprivileged students in middle school, the organization has become an integral step in all levels of education. This year, the Educational Outreach Program includes the following programs within partner school districts: Super Submarine Science (grades 2-5), After School Club (grades 4-5), Science and Engineering in Your Future (grades 6-8), Math Counts (grades 6-8), Real World: Division Newport Guest Lecturer Program (grades 9-12), Bring a Child to Work Day (ages 9-17), Bring a Future Engineer to Work (grades 9-12), Collegiate Engineer Tours (college students), FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) (grades 9-12), Sea Perch (K-12), and Undersea Technology Apprentice Program (grades 9-12).
Through this program, the award-winning Mathematics and Science Educational Outreach Program has reached over 4,000 students in the Rhode Island community in 2008. This success includes over 425 students during the annual Bring a Child to Work Day, 98 students during Bring a Future Engineer/Scientist Day; and 50 students during the Collegiate Tour. It also includes 72 Division Newport employees voluntarily judging about 1,100 student projects for eight regional Science Fair competitions. Such success has led to a RADM William Thompson Award for Excellence in Public Affairs in 2007 and in 2009 (for the second time in three years) recognition from the Navy Community Service of the Year Award in Personal Excellence Partnership (PEP). Recent external awards received by individual employees for their volunteer efforts include the John Chafee Humanitarian Award, the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Role Model of the Week, and the Daily Point of Light Award (Kevin O'Connor and Adam Macksoud). The Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division’s Mathematics and Science Educational Outreach Program is surely solidifying America’s future, one child at a time.