On March 12-14, everywhere around Nebraska, alarm clocks go off as tousled-hair, baggy-eyed, yawning HOSA members from Scottsbluff to Omaha high schools stumble out of bed to prepare for the long-awaited, big day ahead of them.
The students are up early these mornings for HOSA’s Nebraska State Leadership Convention, an annual event where high school HOSA associates showcase what they’ve learned and face off for the first-place award.
They all share the same goal: to qualify for HOSA’s International Leadership Conference, which can only be achieved by receiving the first-place distinction in their event.
HOSA, an acronym standing for “Health Occupation Students of America,” is an organization devoted to introducing students who are curious about the health sciences field to what it would be like to work in those positions in the future.
“HOSA is an organization that helps connect like-minded peers that are interested in becoming future health professionals. It’s for any student that is interested in health. In general, it’s just a really fun club,” junior and Nebraska HOSA vice president Ansh Mishra said.
In HOSA, each student studies and learns the material on their own to compete in a specific category of their choice. These categories can range from Biomedical Debate to Pharmacology to Medical Law and Ethics.
“My favorite part of HOSA is probably the State Leadership Conference because there’s a lot of expos and breakout sessions that we get to go to. It’s just a really fun time,” sophomore Elise Cherek said.
While one of the core elements of the State Leadership Conference is competing to win, all HOSA conferences, not just the State Leadership Conference, present HOSA members with the opportunity to meet guest speakers involved in the healthcare community.
This allows HOSA members to understand how their routine would play out in the future if they decide to pursue the medical path. Along with that, students discover what prerequisites and requirements are needed to become a medical science proficient.
Additionally, at these conventions, students get to know other students who are passionate about healthcare.
Via this similarity, HOSA constituents can expand their social web, bounce ideas off one another, learn about HOSA culture in other schools, and simply make new friends.
“The competitions are so fun because you get to meet with people from Lincoln and even people from Gering, Nebraska, and the Bluffs. There are just people from all over Nebraska that come and they’re all interested in healthcare,” Mishra said.
Many have built lasting memories and uncovered personal excellence through HOSA.
“I enjoy participating in HOSA. It’s a really great club and it’s just been a great experience,” sophomore Caleb Yeh said.
HOSA members like Mishra, Cherek, and Yeh prompt students who are interested in becoming future health professionals or who just want an educational and healthy challenge to give HOSA a chance.
“Overall, everything’s really cool. I’d say more people should do it. Going into it, a lot of people are there for state leadership or they’ll do it just to compete in something, but then a lot of people end up enjoying themselves. If you’re thinking about doing it, just do it,” Cherek said.
Together, Cherek, Yeh, and Mishra have a combined nine placement achievements at HOSA, with most of these feats being the first-place prize. All will be attending the International Leadership Conference, which is planned for June 21-24 in Dallas, Texas this year.
MN’s HOSA chapter showed extreme skill and devotion at the State Leadership Conference this year and looks forward to continuing repping Millard North’s blue, green, and white, whether it be in Nebraska or Texas.