Issue 8
September 2016
BCSP Collegiate eNewsletter
 

Welcome to the BCSP Collegiate eNewsletter!

Whether you are a SH&E professor, student, or recent graduate, the Collegiate eNewsletter will include news and information that will help you in your professional safety career.

See the In This Issue section to the right to navigate to the stories of most interest to you.

Thank you to all who contributed to this issue.

Defining "Calling" in a Culture of Choice
Richard Olawoyin, PhD, CEP, CESCO, Assistant Professor, Environmental Health & Safety Program, Oakland University   
 
Congratulations on your achievements so far and welcome to the 2016-2017 academic year. The beginning of the academic year comes with a fresh start, a "tabula rasa". This is an exciting time of the year, with new classes, students, professors, opportunities, and challenges. The summer must have been helpful for everyone's reflection on possibilities of personal improvement in the coming year.

As advances in technology and pioneering research on human behavior have expanded opportunities for learning and teaching, the technical and soft skills you will acquire this year will be useful in anticipating, identifying, recognizing, characterizing, and controlling hazards to people and the environment-"the right to be safe is a human right". The call to be safety professionals does not end with the quest for self-improvement, rather, it encompasses altruistic and compassionate character, communal participation, and indivisible humanism.  

The topmost qualification for becoming a safety professional is your passion for helping people; after which follows the technical training and skills you will acquire from your professors and instructors. It is important to maintain a good student-instructor relationship, and appreciate when instructors challenge you intellectually, because they are supporting your academic growth. This passion and good instruction will help you meet the standards of a Qualified Academic Program's (QAP) robust curricula, in turn showing employers, and society at large, that they can be confident in your competencies as you prepare to enter into the global workforce upon graduation.

As you settle into the new academic year with lots of energy, passion, and optimism, continue to promote the professional practice of safety by being life-long learners. Learn with confidence, commit to the pursuit of BCSP certifications, be actively involved with your program's student society section, take intellectual chances, go on field trips and site visits, and explore your curiosity through SH&E translational research, finding solutions to tomorrow's safety problems today. As Albert Einstein explained, "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." Here at Oakland University, Environmental Health and Safety, we share in this passion.

The safety profession is lucrative, but even more rewarding. Understanding your calling from all other available choices is a process of realizing the harmony between true self and perceiving what will make the world a better place. Quality education, positive thinking, good sense of judgement, moral values, and training based on one's skill, all lead to impressive success. Importantly, be courageous, because it is as Winston Churchill once said: "Success is never final. Failure is never fatal. It is courage that counts." Your educational experience is preparing you for the challenges of the 21st century. You are being equipped as solution finders for the community we all serve. Always be thoughtful and decisive in your actions; and be unique contributors to the pursuit of knowledge that will ensure the welfare of the world.

Get prepared to be tested, excited, and inspired. I am confident that your educational expedition will reveal inconceivable strengths and opportunities.

Wishing you the best with your studies this year.

You Can Have Whatever You Want in Life  

College students are not only engaged in study; they also begin to practice skills that they will need to start careers in their chosen field. By the time they graduate, successful SH&E students should be ready to become SH&E professionals.  

"Get involved in as much as you can," says Alex Sewing, GSP, CHST, STS. "Do not limit yourself to one group, one program, one society, or one anything."

Sewing graduated from Murray State University with a Bachelors in Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) in December 2013. He now works as an Environmental, Safety and Health Specialist and is pursuing his Masters in Project Management from Missouri State University.

Graduating from a Graduate Safety Practitioner (GSP) Qualified Academic Program (QAP), Sewing was well prepared academically. "I am extremely lucky and grateful to have had the opportunity to graduate from a program where the department put forth so much effort," he says. "I believe the OSH program helped better prepare me to enter the workforce. And, as an added bonus, the program allowed me to obtain the GSP designation, which gave me added credibility as a young safety professional."

Reflecting on his time in college, Sewing believes students should "absolutely" join safety related organizations like the American Society of Safety Engineers (ASSE) and American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA). He is on the Board of the ASSE Young Professionals Group as well as a member of the Future Leaders of Construction Safety (FLOCS), a young professionals group formed by the National Construction Safety Executives (NCSE) organization.

Sewing also thinks it is important to branch out. "Join the debate team, a fraternity or sorority, an athletic team, and so on," he says. "Involvement in a diverse mix of activities will expose you to different individuals with different temperaments, talents, and convictions. You will be forced to step outside of your comfort zone which in turn will allow you to grow personally."

Becoming involved in a diverse range of groups is one thing Sewing feels current students can do that will better prepare them for professional practice, because safety is a team effort. "As a safety professional, my goal is to help workers grow their knowledge, understanding, and expertise of safety, health, and environment, so that they themselves are empowered to make safe decisions and commit safe acts," he explains. In the process of encouraging his coworkers to become engaged in safety, Sewing learns from them too. "There are so many individuals in my life that have helped, and continue to help, shape me into the person that I am today," Sewing explains.

What has had the most impact on Sewing is something his father once told him. "If I had to choose one piece of advice to share it would be the advice my Dad gave me - 'you can have whatever you want in life, you just have to want it'," Sewing says. "I'm from St. Louis so my entire family is die-hard Cardinals fans. I went to a 2001 NLDS game with my Dad and after the game we waited for over an hour near the dugout to get a ball. The stadium was practically empty by the time I got one, but I'll always remember my Dad's relentlessness."

Think about what you want, and do what you can to make it real.

Hygiene Students Reaching Out as Part of Global Initiative 
Michael Manning, President of the University of Michigan Industrial Hygiene Student Association 
 
The University of Michigan Industrial Hygiene Student Association (UMIHSA), an American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) student local section, was recently approved to become the first student chapter of the US branch of Workplace Health Without Borders (WHWB-US).

WHWB is a not-for-profit non-governmental organization focused on providing under-served worker populations with technical assistance, training, and skills development to help them to develop the capacity and local infrastructure to manage and improve health conditions in their workplaces.  WHWB-US was established in late 2015 and is headquartered in Ann Arbor, MI. The President is Mary O'Reilly and the Vice-President is Albert Tien.

With Prof. Edward Zellers, Director of the IH Program at the University of Michigan, UMIHSA co-hosted Maryanne Levitsky, President of WHWB, for a seminar visit in April, 2016 as part of the Michigan Center for Occupational Health and Safety Engineering (COHSE) Occupational Health seminar series. Informal meetings were held with Ms. Levitsky to discuss current and planned activities in which UMIHSA can support WHWB goals.

This year, to a greater extent than ever before, IH students have engaged in summer internships and research projects with international collaborators, at locations outside the US, and concerning underserved immigrant worker populations. Of the nine first-year IH Masters students, five engaged in summer internships that addressed exposures among vulnerable populations either abroad or in the US. Two of the current PhD students at Michigan also are working on projects with global components or collaborations.

UMIHSA has also made use of their group's diversity to begin translating portions of selected Occupational Health Training Association (OHTA) educational modules developed by OHTA for informing safety and health officials in developing nations throughout the world about safety and health issues facing workers.

UMIHSA aims to increase student membership in WHWB-US through the identification and recruitment of other student organizations that share a common vision about promoting global safety and IH.  In turn, WHWB (WHWB-US) aims to provide mentorship, professional guidance, and available resources to such student organizations in launching projects or related activities directed toward underserved regions or underserved US worker populations.

Interested groups or individuals should contact UMIHSA.

Sharing Paths to Rewarding Careers in Safety  
 
BCSP joined school counselors from across the United States at the American School Counselor Association's (ASCA) Annual Conference this July, sharing information about the safety profession with other attendees.

"We were well-received at ASCA, and met many counselors eager to provide their students with information on how young people can join us in the profession," said Erica Poff, BCSP's Government Affairs and Outreach Manager.

Poff shared what a safety professional does, where safety professionals work, and how a person can start a career in the field.

The presentation's PowerPoint, Career Paths in Safety, is helpful to any considering a career in safety can be downloaded from the Articles and Presentations page on the BCSP website.

 
BCSP Expands Access to SH&E Scholarships   

To support students excelling in their safety, health, and environmental (SH&E) studies, BCSP is reaching out to GSP QAP's to offer $5,000 scholarships to an exceptional student in each program that chooses to participate.

BCSP also supports scholarships offered by the American Industrial Hygiene Foundation (AIHF), the American Society of Safety Engineers Foundation (ASSE Foundation) and the Association of General Contractors of America (AGC of America).

Visit the following links for more information on each of these associations' scholarship offerings:
Dedicate Yourself to Advancing the Safety Profession     

BCSP's Graduate Safety Practitioner® (GSP) Qualified Academic Programs (QAP) provide their graduates the  GSP designation, which not only allows them to sit directly for the Certified Safety Professional® (CSP), but also shows a dedication to advancing the SH&E profession through certification. We call this the #GSPPromise.

Every year David West, CSP, P.E. visits Southeastern Louisiana University (SLU) to congratulate graduates who achieve the GSP. "An individual with a GSP designation has something special," says West. "A GSP is distinguished as having graduated from one of a select number of academic programs in safety, health, and environment that meet BCSP's demanding standards for recognition as a Qualified Academic Program, or QAP. GSPs, like those I meet twice a year in Hammond, LA, are proud of being on a path to full certification as a CSP."

West has been visiting SLU for the past four years. It is his way of giving back to the profession, and he is always encouraged by the graduates he meets. "When the person responsible for safety of the worksite has an accredited safety certification like those offered by BCSP, you can rest assured that that safety professional has the required education and experience, and by passing a rigorous examination, has demonstrated their proficiency to identify the hazards and implement controls to eliminate or minimize risk," West says.

Show your commitment to the profession with the #GSPPromise.


In This Issue
Send Us Your News

Consider the BCSP Collegiate
eNewsletter your eNewsletter.

This BC SP eNewsletter is currently published twice annually, at the beginning and end of each academic year.

If you have any SH&E education news ideas, contact Colan Holmes, BCSP Communications Manager.

Newsletters and Annual Reports Archive

BCSP keeps an archive of all of its eNewsletters and Annual Reports. You can view these and other publications in the About BCSP webpage's  resources column. 
 
BCSP Academic Database


BCSP maintains the Academic Database for those seeking the knowledge required to become an SH&E professional, looking to earn Recertification Points, or to stay knowledgeable of the latest developments in safety practice. 
 
Promote the Value of Your School 

If your academic program is a Qualified Academic Program, BCSP would like to work with you in making sure individuals seeking quality SH&E education know your school produces future leaders.

Contact Lisa Spencer, BCSP Marketing and Outreach Director, for more information.


BCSP's Toolkit for Advancing the Safety Profession

 
Banner displays are a great way to promote BCSP certifications and earn Recertification credit. A display is available to any certificate holder for use at chapter meetings, regional or local conferences, career fairs, and other safety-related seminars, meetings, and presentations. BCSP ships to and from any U.S. venue and provides literature at no cost.

If you would like to reserve a display, please fill out the Display and Literature Request Form. Displays are first come, first serve and must be returned.

Presentations on safety certification can also be done for Recertification points, and BCSP has many resources that can be used for presentations, including pre-made PowerPoints, on our Articles and Presentations webpage.

Item writing illustrates your safety knowledge, earning you Recertification points as well. Find out more on our Item Writing webpage.
 

 
 
 
BCSP Career Center

The BCSP Career Center connects job seekers with prospective employers in the safety, health and environmental industry. Results are just a click away!

The Career Center allows job seekers who hold any of our credentials to post an anonymous resume in our resume bank for free.

For companies looking to hire individuals who hold our credentials this is your direct route to qualified individuals.