In 2022, Jailene Benitez was a College of DuPage student exploring her four-year college options. And she was doing it with the attention to detail that reflected her five years of service in the U.S. Navy.
Digging into the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP) website, Benitez noticed that Northern Illinois University was among the colleges with a designation of a Qualified Academic Program (QAP) on its safety degree directory.
Aware of the link between QAPs and graduates of those programs’ workforce readiness, it helped clinched Benitez’s decision to enroll at NIU’s College of Engineering and Engineering Technology.
Now a senior majoring in Industrial Management and Technology, Benitez has continued her diligent approach. Those efforts recently led to a $5,000 scholarship.
Its source? Fittingly enough: the BCSP’s QAP Student Scholarship.
“I’m thrilled,” Benitez said. “It’s particularly meaningful because my decision to enroll at NIU was influenced by its QAP designation in the first place.”
An Aurora, Illinois native who graduated from West Aurora High School, Benitez is among 40 students nationally who received the scholarship. All attend collegiate programs that the BCSP has determined match the criteria needed to offer the Graduate Safety Practitioner (GSP) designation.
One of the qualifications for scholarship candidates is having a 3.0 grade point average; Benitez has maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA. Recently, she answered several questions about her journey so far as well as her plans for the future:
What impact does the scholarship have on your final year as an undergrad?
The support allows me to focus more deeply on my studies without the burden of financial stress. It also allows me to engage further in my field through seminars, specialized safety certifications, and a national safety conference.
What are your career goals?
My academic emphasis is environmental health and safety (EHS) and my immediate career goal is to earn the Certified Safety Professional certification from the BCSP.
Long term, I want to focus on ensuring that all workers are aware of their right to a safe workplace. I also want to address and update existing safety standards to eliminate gaps that threaten the lives of workers across America.
What has inspired this career path and those goals?
My career inspiration comes from serving as a work center supervisor in the U.S. Navy, focusing on maintenance.
This role highlighted the importance of maintaining equipment to prevent injuries and ensure safety. The leadership’s emphasis on sailor well-being instilled in me the crucial skills and values that guided my choice to pursue a career in safety.
What’s one CEET course that has been especially meaningful to you?
TECH 436, which is Design of Environmental Health and Safety Programs. Taught by Dr. Ted Hogan, this course included a semester-long project with NIU’s hardworking electrical shop.
Dr. Hogan emphasizes that effective communication is key in safety management and that project focused on communicating with workers to pinpoint hazards along with conducting toolbox talks with the employees, which enhanced my communication skills. That, in turn, helped me in my summer internship at Argonne National Laboratory.
Is there an organization you’ve been involved with during your time at NIU?
I’m active in the American Society of Safety Professional (ASSP) Three Rivers Chapter, which hosts expert-led safety presentations throughout the year. These sessions are free for student members and include a complimentary lunch. I highly recommend attending for excellent networking opportunities and a delicious meal.
What are your most memorable experiences from the Navy? Did you serve in various parts of the world?
During my four-plus years aboard the USS America (LHA-6), I traveled globally, visiting Dubai, Bahrain, Hawaii, Singapore, Israel, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan and Guam. Working on the flight deck, my main responsibilities involved maintaining, assembling and inspecting the ship’s weapons.
The most memorable parts were the sailors I served with and the strong work ethic the Navy built.
