HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America) is a national club in which middle school, high school and college students can learn about different health professions that they may want to pursue. In March, state leadership conferences (SLC) are held where students compete to go to nationals in Houston, Texas. This year was the first time the SHS chapter has been to the state leadership conference in Charleston since the club started last year.
Donna Howell is the supervisor of HOSA and a health science teacher at SHS.
“HOSA is a chance for students to meet their peers and network, to study and participate in competitions, and allows them the chance to have access to medical resources, speakers, scholarships, etc,” Howell said.
HOSA students from the SHS chapter competed in areas such as presenting a Public Service Announcement on fentanyl and a Health Career Display on optometry. Other students took tests on Forensic Science, Medical Terminology, Medical Reading and Medical Law and Ethics which were taken in school before the competition.
Caitlin Tabbot (12) took the forensic science test to learn more about that career field.
“The HOSA trip to Charleston was not only educational, but also super fun! We got to laugh, shop, tan, and most importantly, learn about the world of healthcare. If I wasn’t graduating this year, I would one thousand percent do it again next year,” Tabbot said.
The three-day conference did not only consist of presenting projects, but included symposiums, a scholarship award ceremony, motivational speakers, and a game night. The conference took place at the convention center in North Charleston and the club members stayed at the DoubleTree Hotel, just minutes from the competition. In addition to the HOSA events happening at the convention center, club members also shopped around the Tanger Outlets and went to restaurants together.
Each SLC, there are officer elections for state officers. These candidates have only 24 hours to campaign, which made the opening session have an energetic atmosphere.
Since one important aspect of the competition is meeting and fellowshipping with friends from other schools, the campaign brought about new relationships. For example, Jeet Sridhar is a senior at River Bluff High School and was running for the president of South Carolina HOSA. Sridhar became friends with many HOSA students from SHS, and won over many peoples’ votes.
“I’ve been involved in HOSA since my sophomore year of high school where I was president of our chapter. This year I was given the opportunity to run for president of our state HOSA program. As president, I plan to lead by remembering the acronym, T.E.A.M. The “T” stands for transparency, the “E” stands for engaging, “A” stands for accommodate, and most importantly the “M” stands for medicine which is what this club is all about. I’m so grateful to have won the election this year and can’t wait to shatter all expectations and go beyond all limits,” Sridhar said.
