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Outside the walls of Henry Houck
Elementary School in Lebanon,

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the sun on the last Friday
in May is scorching everything

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that isn’t protected by shade or sunblock.

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Inside the school gymnasium,
dozens of third and fourth graders

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try their hardest to sit
still on the floor, but it’s not so easy.

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It’s one of the last days of the school
year,

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and the sun-soaked landscape beckons.

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t’s nearly lunch.

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Rumors of a pizza party are circling
and the winner of a T-shirt contest

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might be announced today.

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Also, somewhere, hiding, is the Penn State
Nittany Lion himself.

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“So, we say, ‘Reapply
so you don’t fry!’” shouts Talia Gross,

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medical office
assistant at Penn State Health,

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who wears a T-shirt with a Penn State
logo on it.

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She means, “Continue to put on layers
of sunscreen every two hours when you’re

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exposed to avoid a sunburn.” “REAPPLY SO

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YOU DON’T FRY!” the students yell back.

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“Reapply so you don’t fry!” “REAPPLY
SO YOU DON’T FRY!” Another woman

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dresses up in a costume that looks like
a cartoon version of the sun.

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Laurie Krnjaic, a pediatric nurse
practitioner in dermatology

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at Penn State Health Milton S.

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Hershey Medical Center, leads the children
in a Penn State fight song,

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punctuated by the shouted phrase,
“WE ARE HENRY HOUCK!”

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Finally, the Nittany Lion waltzes

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in, dropping for one-arm pushups
and wielding an umbrella

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to protect himself from the cartoon sun.

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Just your garden-variety,
late-school-year assembly, right?

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The gathering seems like a little fun
to help the students

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run out the clock in the final days
just before summer vacation.

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But the Penn State Health employees
at the event, while they grin wildly

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and pose for photos,
brought a method along with their madness.

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Pass the sunscreen.

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In Lebanon,

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20.5% of respondents to Penn State
Health’s 2021

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Community Health Needs Assessment
said they had cancer,

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second only to Perry County among the six
counties surveyed.

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Cancer was listed
as the eighth highest health concern

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among respondents to the survey.

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Skin cancer
is the most common form of the disease

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in the U.S.,
according to the Skin Cancer Foundation.

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One in five people will develop it
before they turn 70,

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and every hour, more than two people die
from it. Two women stand in a gymnasium..

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One is clapping, the other is reading
from a piece of paper.

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Behind them
a row of others stand out of focus.

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“The goal is to start teaching kids
about sun protection now so they’ll

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likely continue it when they’re older,”
Krnjaic said.

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“Statistics show that our risk of skin
cancer increases as we age.

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So, if they start protecting their skin
when they’re young, they’re

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less likely to forget.” So, every year
for the past four,

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a team from Penn State Health Dermatology
has been visiting local schools

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for the Sun Protection
Super Hero T-shirt Contest

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with one main goal –
getting into the kids’ heads now.

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And hopefully staying there.

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Club shade.

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“OK,” Gross yells to the crowd,

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“we apply sunscreen every …
how many hours?”

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“TWO HOURS!” the students roar in reply.

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Gross is one of about 20 people
who helped create this event.

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She serves as the lead of Dermatology’s

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community service committee,
which has 10 members.

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Five others helped with research, others
pitch in with odds and ends.

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Every year the event entails
putting together gift bags,

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attending meetings
and sending out emails ― all after working

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long shifts at their day jobs
as health care providers.

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“It’s the kids’ faces,” Gross said.

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“That’s what I like about it.”
“We want them to stay jazzed about this,”

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Krnjaic said.

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“We would much
rather come to the community

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to see people than see them
come to the hospital.”

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The centerpiece of the event
every year is the T-shirt contest.

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Weeks earlier,
Krnjaic arranged with the school

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to show an educational video
on the importance of sunscreen.

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At the conclusion of the video,
the kids are invited

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to enter their best
drawing of a sun protection hero.

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This year, 83 children from Henry Houck
participated.

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Next, the staff picks six finalists.

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Then, they put images
of all six designs on posters

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they hang in waiting rooms
and high-traffic areas around Milton S.

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Hershey Medical Center.

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The posters include a QR code
and an invitation to health care

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professionals, patients and visitors
to pick their favorites.

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This year, 164 people voted,
and they chose...

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“Clark Parker!” Krnjaic announces
the name of a 4th grader,

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and the room erupts
into shrieks of happiness.

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Blown-up versions of all six
finalists’ renderings

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rest on easels on one side of the gym.

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Clark’s winning entry features
a superhero in a long red cape

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zooming under an orange sun
with rays like spider

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legs and a bottle of SPF-30 sunscreen.

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Words floating in his wake
say “Never Fear Sun Protection Is Here!”

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Before they head off
to a special pizza party,

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Krnjaic announces
that every student in attendance

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will receive two T-shirts
– both featuring Clark’s design.

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One includes special UV protection
that can actually help

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shield the wearer from the sun’s
harmful rays.

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“The other can be your inside
shirt,” Krnjaic tells them.

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Measuring success.

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Fun? Absolutely.

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But is it working? When Gross asks her sun

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protection questions,
everyone seems to have the answers.

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What does SPF stand for?

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How do you protect yourself from the sun?

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This year, the Penn State Health
Dermatology research team led by Dr.

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Charlene Lam, vice chair of Community
Health, is assessing its progress.

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Before the contest began, students
were given a pre-test

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to see how much they already knew
about protecting their skin

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and then a post-test
after they watched an educational video.

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In six months,
they’ll return with another test to see

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if what they taught the students stuck
and if their behavior changed.

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“I hope so,” Krnjaic said,
because as the children head off

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to finish another school year, outside
the sun is blazing away,

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and three months of summer
days out in it lie ahead.