VPH Academy trains youth ages 14–24 as non-clinical peer support specialists. As a CHES or MCHES, you can earn continuing education hours while shaping the future public health workforce.
"You can't pour from an empty cup. You can't help others with what you haven't dealt with within yourself."
Your expertise as a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) directly impacts young people while advancing your own career.
Mentoring VPH Academy students qualifies as Category I continuing education hours through service and supervision activities.
Directly mentor youth ages 14–24 building competencies in peer support, health education, and community health work.
Document leadership in youth workforce development, a growing priority area across public health.
Support underserved youth in Arkansas through a prevention-first, non-clinical model grounded in all 11 C3 competencies.
Refine your own coaching, facilitation, and mentorship skills while supervising field practicums and health coaching sessions.
Connect with a statewide network of health educators, CHWs, and public health professionals invested in youth development.
Every CHES/MCHES responsibility area maps directly to the Arkansas C3 competencies taught in VPH Academy. Your mentorship reinforces skills you already practice.
Plan and conduct assessments to determine health education needs and capacity.
Plan effective health education/promotion programs, interventions, and strategies.
Implement health education/promotion programs, interventions, and strategies.
Conduct evaluation and research related to health education/promotion.
Advocate for health, health education/promotion, and the profession.
Communicate, promote, and advocate for health, health education/promotion, and the profession.
Lead and manage health education/promotion programs.
Promote and practice ethical standards of the profession.
Students earn competency badges as they progress. As a mentor, you will guide them through mastering each one.
Multiple pathways to accumulate CE hours through hands-on mentoring, curriculum work, and student supervision.
Conduct required health coaching sessions with academy students. Help them process personal wellness before serving others.
Supervise student field placements, evaluate community health projects, and provide structured feedback.
Help develop or review curriculum modules aligned with C3 competencies and CHES responsibility areas.
Serve as a faculty advisor to student-led public health clubs at partner schools.
Facilitate motivational interviewing practice sessions, providing real-time feedback on OARS technique.
Evaluate and score student capstone projects for PRISM credential completion.
Estimated 30+ CE hours annually
Through regular mentoring, coaching, and program involvement
Your role bridges professional health education and youth development.
Every student must participate in 1-on-1 health coaching with a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES). You help them address their own wellness before they serve others.
Walk students through the 11 C3 competencies, providing real-world context from your own CHES/MCHES experience.
Oversee Phase 5 field placements, evaluate community health projects, and sign off on competency demonstrations.
Lead motivational interviewing practice sessions and provide structured feedback on OARS technique development.
Score scenario-based assessments, review reflective journals, and track student progress across all competency areas.
Demonstrate the ethical conduct, cultural humility, and self-care practices that students will carry into their own work.