There are three candidates for the new Clinical Health Educator position at the Health Center.

The candidates include Elizabeth Champion, Sabrina Aderman and Jennifer Boaz.

They each had open interviews where they had a chance to answer questions from members of the faculty, staff and students.

Associate Clinical Nurse Practitioner Liz Faulk, the head of the search committee for the job, said the

new position was created to utilize an evidence-based approach to provide a brief screening and intervention for students who exhibit at-risk behaviors or clinical depression.

“The position had to be approved by campus administration, and once that had gone through, we were able to advertise it,” Faulk said.  “We reached out to different organizations and internet sites to try to gain the widest and most diverse applicant pool.”

Faulk said after all of applications were reviewed, 12 people were contacted and discussed start date, benefits and salary.

The candidates who were still interested in the position after the initial call back received phone screenings, which were 15-20 minute talks with the entire search committee. The top three candidates were chosen and invited to the open interviews.

Faulk said the interaction with the students will be an intricate part of the job.

“The health educator will complete specialized training in motivational interviewing,” Faulk said. “It has been shown to be effective and I want the health educator to bring that back here and figure out how to make it work here at UW-Whitewater.”

Faulk said the committee would make an unofficial list of strengths and weaknesses for each candidate and present it to Richard Jazdzewski, executive director for UHCS, and Ruth Swisher, director of health.  Ultimately, they will decide who will fill the position.

“The training starts in January,” Faulk said. “So we hope to have someone start in the next few weeks.”

Q&A with the Royal Purple:

Royal Purple: Why did you apply for this position?

Champion: This is my aluma mater, and I am really passionate about this school and helping students make healthier decisions while they are in college, since I have a psychology background, it blends well into the motivation aspect of it.

Aderman: I want to be able to help instill healthy behavior early on in students and try to avoid some of the unfortunate chronic issues that can come up as a result of unhealthy issues if they continue. I want students to be at their best so that they can take the opportunity during their college experience to discover their talents to be successful in their careers and lives.

Royal Purple: What makes you the best candidate?

Champion: I am really enthusiastic about this population specifically, and I have a lot of knowledge about students who go here, and I think I bring a lot of enthusiasm.

Aderman: I have certified advanced practice social work degree and I have over ten years of experience working with diverse group of clients who have experienced a wide variety of health and mental health issues, some of which that have become chronic concerns. It gives me a good idea of what can happen when one doesn’t pay attention to their health or the warning signs.

Royal Purple: What do you want to accomplish?

Champion: Motivating them [students] to make better health decisions and to get the health they need. I think it will compliment the services already at UHCS really well, too.

Aderman: Talk to students in a non-judgmental way with a more collaborative approach about some of those at-risk behaviors and hopefully invite them to make some changes to those actions that put them at risk.

Jennifer Boaz could not be reached for comment.