Members of Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) travelled to Orlando to participate in the national competition formally known as the International Leadership Conference (ILC) June 19 – 23. Categories varied from individual and group competitions on topics ranging from organic chemistry to medical spelling. The group consisted of 28 members that prepared for the competition through written tests and group quizzing in the form of HOSA Bowl team rounds. The HOSA categories require either written tests, team events or presentations (i.e. prepared speaking or interviews) under the supervision of judges. The science-oriented organization National Geographic also sponsored written tests that garnered attention because of the opp for students to show their prowess beyond the single-category limitation set by HOSA guidelines. Scores rely on testing results and feedback from judges.
“The competition was really fun. It introduced me to a bunch of different people from around the world. It also really brought together anyone who went on the trip and made it feel more like a family. They have a tradition in the competition where each state designs a pin and then the competitors can go around and trade their pins for different states, giving you a cool souvenir to bring along that’s really unique, along with letting you talk to people that you wouldn’t have before,” said rising junior Melina Marin about her experience at the competition.
The competition and team-bonding opportunities further developed the club and served as a time of growth and learning for the members. As last year’s seniors graduate and move on from high school, the club is left under new leadership with established goals regarding the future of the club and participation in future competitions.
“At ILC, I got to meet some really cool people with similar interests, and I got a lot of great opportunities to explore different areas of medicine. It was a really rewarding experience because I got to see our hard work from this year pay off,” said rising junior Angelina Kinney, the current president of HOSA. When asked about the prospects for the 2019-2020 HOSA year, Kinney responded “My goals for next year are to have more people compete in more diverse categories, and to make HOSA a well-known club at our school.”
List of winners:
Barbara James Service Award
Nicholas DiStefano – Gold
Zaina Ghantous – Gold
Angelina Kinney – Gold
Anisa Haffizulla – Gold
Vasanthkumar Pattoor – Gold
Ebin Mathew – Gold
Stanley Pierre – Gold
Hemangi Rajpal – Gold
Ashni Zaverchand – Gold
Greeshma Avaradi – Silver
Snigdha Sama – Silver
Tarun Sama – Silver
Diya Jayram – Bronze
Prepared Speaking
Angelin Mathew – 3rd Place
Forensics Science
Arnaldo Ferrebus, Tarun Sama – 3rd
Job Seeking Skills
Valentina Ortega – Top 10
Allied Health Statistics
Victor Wang – Top 10
Anatomy and Physiology
Amrita Bonthu – Top 10
Biochemistry
Anam Ahmed – Top 10
Bioengineering
Angelin Mathew – 1st Place
Valentina Ortega – 3rd Place
Biology
Sean Teng – 1st Place
Angelina Kinney – 2nd Place
Ephraim Oyetunji – Top 10
Biomedical Debate
Abdul-Jalil Dania, VijayaSai Somasundaram, JayaSai Somasundaram – Top 10
General Chemistry
Amrita Bonthu – Top 10
Human Heredity
Angelina Kinney – Top 10
Melina Marin – Top 10
Roshni Mishra – Top 10
Medical Spelling
Briya Patel – 12th Place
Microbiology
Ephraim Oyetunji – Top 10
Organic Chemistry
Anam Ahmed – 3rd Place
Hemangi Rajpal – Top 10
