Health Occupations Students of America
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2019-20
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I'd never heard of HOSA (Health Occupations Students of America) before coming to UC; I signed up because I saw it was health-related, so I thought it'd be a good opportunity to gain more insight into the healthcare world.
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I was initially apprehensive of signing up to compete, as I thought it would add another stressor on top of classes, clubs, and other responsibilities, but I'm glad I did! I chose to compete in Medical Terminology because I enjoyed learning about word origins and finding patterns in prefixes, suffixes, etc. Early in the year, the Knowledge Tests coordinator shared a plethora of study resources with me.
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Over the school year, HOSA held meetings featuring speakers from a variety of science/healthcare professions, from our biology professor, Dr. Kinkle, and microbiology professor Dr. Askew, to two MD/PhD students and a dentist. We also had several fundraising and team bonding events. Later in the year, I interviewed for and attained the secretary position (check out my introduction video on the left! I think it's a pretty good representation of myself and my idea of the role.)
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Both States in March and Internationals in June were moved online. This was unfortunate, as I was excited to travel to Columbus and Houston to compete, but I understood the risk of having so many students congregating in one area. I placed 1st in the postsecondary/collegiate Medical Terminology state competition, and 2nd at the international competition.
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I'm thankful for the knowledge and insight I gained and the people I met this year. Looking forward to more learning and fun with HOSA in the future!
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