Global Hand Washing Day Professor Julia Schmitz informs students on proper hand washing techniques 

Demorest, Georgia, Sept. 2, 2020- In efforts to educate before the Global Hand Washing Day on Oct. 15, Piedmont College Microbiology ProfessorJulia Schmitz wants to educate students on the importance and effects of hand washing, and more importantly how to properly wash hands for it to be effective. 

“Making sure that people are going between their fingers and their thumbs is important,” she said.”Everything that we’re doing we will be touching our face with our hands.” 

Hand washing is crucial living through a pandemic, especially on a college campus. Covid tests are increasing weekly on campus, therefore knowing how to effectively wash hands is extremely important to ensure safety amongst the campus.It is more than common that individuals miss parts of their hands, do not use the correct products, or simply wash their hands incorrectly.On Global Hand Washing Day, Piedmont College hopes to teach students the proper ways to wash hands through a Tic Tok competition in which students can submit their educational and entertaining videos on handwashing.

“Probably the most often area where things would be left is your knuckles…underneath your nails, around your nail beds, underneath rings and jewelry, and thumbs,” she said. 

The hand washing practice is one students in the biology department take seriously.

“Even before the pandemic during biology labs we are expected to wash our hands consistently, but now it is more important than ever to wash our hands correctly and thoroughly,” said biology major, Cameron McDonald.

With all of this information, the biology and mass communications departments are teaming up to educate students at Piedmont during Global Hand Washing Day. Piedmont is hosting Tik Tok contests and social distancing events to educate students in an exciting manner on the positive and negative effects of washing hands. To engage students in participating in the hand washing events, winners and prizes will be given to those who create a creative video on the correct ways to wash hands. For more information on the National Hand Washing Day events, email Joe Dennis at jdennis@piedmont.edu. 

About Piedmont College

One of the most dynamic small colleges in the Southeast, Piedmont is an independent liberal arts college of more than 2,260 students. The college’s four schools—Arts & Sciences, Business, Education, and Nursing & Health Sciences—develop tomorrow’s leaders by engaging students in the classroom, in their community, and around the world. Founded in 1897, Piedmont offers bachelor’s, master’s, specialist, and doctoral degree programs at its Demorest residential campus in the foothills of the northeast Georgia mountains and at its Athens campus in the heart of Georgia’s Classic City. Information can be found at http://www.piedmont.edu.

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