On Wednesday, April 18, the MHS chapter of Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA) went to Traverse City to compete in HOSA’s State Leadership conference.

There were several top scoring winners from MHS. Junior Ryan Gentil placed first place in Pharmacology, senior Saquib Paracha placed third place in Medical Math, and senior Samantha Augusta also placed third place, but in Veterinary Science. These students are invited to Nationals. The group of 10 was accompanied by Health Clusters teacher Leah Morrelli, Medical Terminology teacher Margie Lake, and Anatomy teacher Alka Pandya.

The itinerary started Thursday morning with a welcome ceremony. Then all of the delegates took a qualifying test; everyone passed.  The next two days were divided for study time and attending lectures such as Mayhem, Are You Prepared? and Pathology on a Global Scale. The conference also included an exhibitor’s fair. Later, there was a chance for chapter officers to listen to and rate candidates for state offices.

The events themselves included the themes of Veterinary Science, Medical Reading, Medical Math, Pharmacology, Extemporaneous Writing, CPR and first aid, and several others. Pandya served as a judge for Biotechnology.

After the events, there was an award ceremony where the top eight in each category were called to the stage. The medals for the top three were handed out at that time. MHS had several students place in the top eight of their categories, including seniors Dana Root, Britanie Dussia, and Hayley Evanski. Finally, the HOSA students were all invited to an activity night, which included themed bounce houses and dancing.

According to MHS’s HOSA President Dussia, “It was a lot of fun. Everyone worked really hard and did great. It will surely prepare us for our futures.” On HOSA in general, she said, “I would encourage any medical student to enroll.”