Artwork from the Top Fifteen New Jersey Middle School and High School Finalists Showcased at ProtectMeWith3.com
Newark, NJ (March 16, 2021) – The Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey, in collaboration with the New Jersey Department of Health, today announced the finalists for the ninth annual Protect Me With 3+ immunization awareness contest. Artwork including five middle school posters, five high school posters and five high school videos is now showcased at www.protectmewith3.com, where public voting will begin on March 22nd.
The Protect Me With 3+ challenges New Jersey youth in middle and high school to raise awareness about the importance of adolescent immunizations including tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis (Tdap), human papillomavirus (HPV), meningococcal conjugate and flu vaccines. This year, the contest received poster and video entries from middle school and high school students across the state. Teachers across New Jersey also incorporated the Protect Me With 3+ contest into their curriculums by making it a class project.
“The goal of the Protect Me with 3+ contest is to underscore the importance of adolescent vaccinations and help mitigate the spread of diseases as we continue to keep our communities safe during the pandemic,” explained Mariekarl Vilceus-Talty, President and CEO of the Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey. “We sincerely hope the contest continues to be a learning experience for students on the importance of adolescent vaccinations while providing an opportunity to be creative and collaborative when creating these wonderful videos and posters.”
Voting will take place for about three weeks and is open to both adults and students. The public may vote once per day until the ballot is closed on April 11th at 11:59 PM EST. The finalists will attend a virtual award ceremony on May 12, and the top three posters and videos in each category will be officially announced on May 13, 2021.
“There is no better time to educate students about the significance of adolescent immunizations,“ explained State Epidemiologist and Assistant Commissioner Dr. Tina Tan from the New Jersey Department of Health. “We highly encourage the public to vote for their favorite posters and videos as we await the awards ceremony where we will announce the winners in May.”
Prizes will be awarded to the top three entries in the video and poster categories. The winning submissions will also be distributed during various statewide immunization awareness activities. Prizes for the classrooms with the most eligible submissions in each category will also be awarded.
The Protect Me With 3+ contest finalists include:
Middle School Poster Category:
- Melody Buccieri, Glen Meadow Middle School
- Jason Afum, Franklin Elementary School
- Cecilia Sajban, Glen Meadows Middle School
- Nicole Garcia, Franklin Elementary School
- Srujana Akella, Woodrow Wilson Middle School
High School Poster Category:
- Sanika Godbole, John P Stevens High School
- Ana Fuentes, Henry Hudson Regional High School
- Madeleine Schuman, High Point Regional High School
- Marguerite McWeeney, Marine Academy of Science and Technology
- Meghana Akella, John P Stevens High School
Video Category:
- Chloe Wu, Marlboro High School
- Anjali Fernandes, Livingston High School
- Anna Drudy, Academy of Allied Health and Science
- Nik Gomolka, Marlboro High School
- Seth Nestorowicz, Marlboro High School
To vote, visit: www.protectmewith3.com/vote.
To view previous winners’ entries, visit: https://protectmewith3.com/winners/.
About the Partnership
The Partnership for Maternal and Child Health of Northern New Jersey is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) corporation, licensed by the New Jersey Department of Health (DOH). Its mission is to improve the health of women, children, and families. The Partnership has more than 20 years of experience mounting community-based, consumer-friendly and culturally competent educational programs to parents, caregivers, pregnant women and individuals of child-bearing age. For more information visit, http://partnershipmch.org.
To learn more about vaccinations, visit the New Jersey Department of Health’s website, visit: https://nj.gov/health/cd/imm_requirements/.
###