source: http://www.courant.com/community/hartford/hc-ugc-article-ct-childrens-injury-prevention-center-announ-2014-11-14-story.html

CT CHILDREN’S INJURY PREVENTION CENTER ANNOUNCES 2014 HAYLEY PETIT INJURY & VIOLENCE PREVENTION FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENTS

By Community Contributor triccio01,

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 13, 2014

MEDIA CONTACT: Monica Buchanan, Media & Public Relations Manager

(860) 837-5701; mbuchanan@connecticutchildrens.org

HARTFORD, Conn. - The Injury Prevention Center (IPC) at Connecticut Children's Medical Center is pleased to announce the selection of the 2014 recipients of the Hayley Petit Injury and Violence Prevention Fellowship: Sahiti Alavala and Nadia Solati. This year's fellows were selected from a competitive pool of high school applicants from across the state.

"We are very pleased to support the Fellowship in memory of Hayley and the injury prevention education, training and community activities that will be part of this important initiative at Connecticut Children's," says Dr. William Petit, MD.

The fellowship was established with support from a Petit Family Foundation grant to honor Hayley Elizabeth Petit and Michaela Rose Petit by "continuing the kindness, idealism and activism that defined their lives;" and to advance the IPC's mission of reducing injury and violence among Connecticut's children, adolescents and adults through research, education and training of students, community outreach programs and public policy/advocacy.

Sahiti Alavala is currently in her junior year at Farmington High School. Her academic success and many volunteering experiences illustrate her strong work ethic and commitment to helping others. Alavala embodies the Fellowship's and IPC's mission as she writes: "Violence and injury prevention are crucial in creating a safer, healthier environment, and I strongly believe education and awareness are necessary in accomplishing this."

Nadia Solati is currently a senior at The Academy in Milford, CT. Solati's guidance counselor describes her as "a passionate, compassionate and dedicated young woman who has overcome many obstacles and continues to strive to better herself and her surroundings." Nadia's motivation and drive are demonstrated by her ability to be a highly successful student while working more than 20 hours a week. Solati's message is, as she writes, that of "hope amidst all the fears and evil this world endures, whether it is through activity, quality time, personal experience, and/or public advocacy."

The fellows will have the opportunity to develop and implement a community education project that fits with their own unique interests and is focused on reducing teen dating violence.

About Connecticut Children's Medical Center

Connecticut Children's Medical Center is a nationally recognized, 187-bed not-for-profit children's hospital serving as the primary teaching hospital for the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. Named among the best in the nation for two of its pediatric specialties in the annual U.S. News & World Report "Best Children's Hospitals" rankings, Connecticut Children's is the only free-standing children's hospital in Connecticut that offers comprehensive, world-class health care to children. Our pediatric services are available at Connecticut Children's Medical Center in Hartford and at Saint Mary's Hospital in Waterbury, with neonatal intensive care units at Hartford Hospital and the University of Connecticut Health Center, along with a state-of-the-art ambulatory surgery center, five specialty care centers and 11 other locations across the state. Connecticut Children's has a medical staff of nearly 1,100 practicing in more than 30 specialties.

For more information, visit www.connecticutchildrens.org or connect with us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/connecticutchildrens and Twitter at www.twitter.com/ctchildrens.