Nancy Wagner, a teacher at Christian High School, has been involved with the San Diego Chain Reaction since it's inception. Ms. Wagner has received this award twice for her dedication, support and guidance to help this council achieve it's goals. The Salk Symposium is an intensive one-day program for high school students and their teachers held on the third Tuesday of March at The Salk Institute in La Jolla. This annual symposium features leading professionals in the fields of birth defects identification, prevention and treatment. Information about the symposium is sent to high schools in San Diego and Imperial counties in January of each year.
Reservations are limited to seven students and one teacher per school.
A maximum of six students are selected each year to study and work with health professionals working in the area of maternal and child health including birth defects prevention. Students must commit to spending 80 hours with their mentor during the summer months. In addition students complete one outreach project to educate peers and their community about maternal and child health issues. Information about the internship program, including an application form, is sent to high school counselors in February of each year. The deadline for applications to be returned to the March of Dimes is normally in the fourth week of March.