Become a Health Advocate

Health advocates stand together

Boynton Health is looking for passionate, enthusiastic students to become Health Advocates.

Apply today

What is a Health Advocate?

A Health Advocate (HA) is a student appointed as a health resource in their residence hall or apartment community, fraternity, or sorority. Health Advocates attend class every Tuesday from 2:30 p.m. to 4:25 p.m., where they are trained to respond to common health-related issues.

Health Advocates:

  • Help residents with minor injuries and illnesses
  • Distribute cold and cough medicine, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, bandages, gauze, condoms, dental dams, lubricant, and pregnancy tests
  • Refer students to health resources on campus
  • Promote a safe, equitable, and respectful environment and provide appropriate and inclusive care to students

Why Be a Health Advocate?

There are many benefits to becoming a Health Advocate, including:

  • First Aid and CPR certification
  • Learning about health issues important to college students
  • Leadership experience
  • Being a health resource for residents in your residence
  • Earning two credits each semester through the School of Public Health
  • Enhancing your résumé or graduate school application
  • Feeling a sense of community with other Health Advocates
  • Gaining the knowledge, skills, and opportunities to be an agent of change in the lives of other University students

What Does It Take to Become a Health Advocate?

We’re looking for students who:

  • Are excited about promoting health
  • Are enthusiastic about a leadership opportunity that involves being a health resource for fellow residents
  • Actively demonstrate respect for all cultures, identities, and people
  • Plan to live in a residence hall or apartment building during the 2024–25 academic year
  • Will attend class on Tuesday afternoons during the 2024–25 academic year
  • Will commit to serving as a Health Advocate for the ENTIRE 2024–2025 academic year

Students with marginalized identities are strongly encouraged to apply.

Which Residence Halls and Apartment Buildings Have Health Advocate Openings?

We have Health Advocate positions open for the 2024–25 academic year in:

Housing & Residential Life

  • 17th Avenue Hall
  • Bailey Hall
  • Centennial Hall
  • Comstock Hall
  • Comstock Hall Lavender House
  • Frontier Hall
  • Keeler
  • Middlebrook Hall
  • Pioneer Hall
  • Radius
  • Sanford Hall
  • Territorial Hall
  • Wilkins Hall
  • Yudof Hall

Off-Campus Housing

  • Argyle House
  • Dinnaken House
  • University Commons
  • University Village

Fraternities and Sororities

If you are interested in serving as a Health Advocate for your fraternity or sorority, please contact Mikaela at [email protected] for more information.

Apply Today!

Here's how to apply: 

  1. Complete and submit the 2024-2025 Health Advocate Application
    1. Priority application deadline is July 26, 2024. Apply by this date for the best chance of getting accepted into the program. Applications will be accepted through early August.
  2. Qualified applicants will be invited to participate in a 30-minute virtual interview via Zoom with a former Health Advocate who can answer questions about the program. Interview questions will be shared in advance of the interview.
  3. Decisions will be communicated by email by Friday, August 16. 

Training Sessions

Health Advocate Training will take place the week before fall semester classes begin. Health Advocates will have two options to choose from:

  • 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 27, 2024
  • 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. on Friday, August 30, 2024

Each Health Advocate will attend just one of the two training dates. The training will include first aid training. CPR training will be done in September & October. Health Advocates will have several CPR training dates to choose from.

Testimonials

What do former Health Advocates say about the program?

“Helping my fellow students with everything from treating a cough to answering questions about mental health gave me a whole new concept of ’community service,’ a concept that I wish everyone can one day experience for themselves.”  — Former Health Advocate

“Through the Health Advocate program, I have gained valuable leadership and teamwork skills and learned relevant, practical knowledge I apply in everyday life. This experience has given me the confidence to take leadership in daily situations, as well as taught me how to respond to people’s needs.”  — Former Health Advocate

“The training I received in the fall semester helped me save a life today. An intoxicated and unconscious 16-year-old male was brought into [my] work by his friends. I recognized the condition he was in and immediately knew he needed medical attention…If I hadn't been exposed to such situations in class, I wouldn't have known exactly what I needed to do and a life could have been lost.”  — Former Health Advocate

Questions?

For more information contact Mikaela Robertson at [email protected].