LTA Holds Funding Round for Annual Founders Scholarship Program

Latte Training Academy
Image: lattetrainingacademy.com

Born in Puerto Rico, Juan Carlos Benitez is an experienced law professional who recently served as a member of the Trump Campaign National Hispanic Advisory Council. In addition to his work in politics, Juan Carlos Benitez acts as chairman of the board of the Latte Training Academy (LTA), an organization that focuses on aiding the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) in local workforce and education development.

Recently, LTA completed its funding round for its annual Founders Scholarship Program. Open to high school students who have successfully completed a program with LTA in the last three years, the scholarship program is meant to support students in pursuit of further education, either at a university or trade school. Further, the Founders Scholarship Program reflects LTA’s belief that the health of a community is dependent upon the success of its members.

To date, the program has allocated over $20,000 in college scholarships. Each available financial aid package within the Founders Scholarship Program is designated for students with a specific focus area. Examples include humanitarian issues and public service, women in business, and tourism. Beyond the LTA program requirement, applicants must be a CNMI citizen as well as a graduating senior in high school who has been accepted into a post-secondary education program. In addition, each applicant must obtain three letters of recommendation from non-family members.

What Do Public Health Professionals Do?

 

Public Health Professionals
Image: bls.gov

Juan Carlos Benitez, president and chairman at Latte Training Academy, oversees courses that help to develop the workforce in the Mariana Islands. The courses Juan Carlos Benitez’s organization offers seek to build capacity in public health, education, and safety.

Public health, rather than focusing on the treatment of diseases, focuses on prevention and health promotion in the community. Public health professionals encourage behavior that stops people from getting sick or injured in the first place. They study populations for behaviors that may be leading to disproportionate strain on the healthcare resources of the community.

Many public health jobs have an educational component. Public health professionals help others, including school districts, workplace designers, and the general public, by teaching about topics like workplace safety, healthy food, and the risks of both legal and illegal drugs.

Researchers in public health track issues like the spread of disease or common injuries in an area. These studies help assess why certain geographic or demographic groups are more susceptible to some conditions, and in turn, inform advocacy efforts for laws such as mandatory seatbelt use or smoke-free indoor settings.