Mrs. Murphy
HOSA States competitors outside after the competition
Health Occupations Students of America, more commonly known as HOSA, has been an empowering and educational organization in the United States since the late 1960s. From its earliest years, HOSA’s main objective has been to “promote career opportunities in the health industry, enhance the delivery of quality health care to all people, and encourage all health science instructors and students to affiliate and be actively involved in the HSE-HOSA Partnership” (Health Occupations Students of America). Founded in Cherry Hill, NJ, in 1975, HOSA has gradually become more popular with students across the US in the past few decades.
At Indian Hills, HOSA has been a recognized club since 2024. Some events offered through the club include Health Science, Emergency Preparedness, Leadership, Teamwork, and more. Over the past couple of months, the IHHS HOSA members have competed in regional and state events. On March 29th and 30th, students competed at states at Burlington County Technical Institute (BCTI). Out of the events that Hills competed in, the first-place finishers were freshman Bridgette Brown in Nutrition, senior Sophia Reynoso in Job Seeking Skills, and Jonas Hoen, Andrew Jabaly, Nick LaMonica, Noah McNamee, James Sabino, and Tyler Wilkes with a group win in the PSA category. Other competitors won service awards and scholarships like the Barbara James Service Award won by Jay Wang, Nehali Reddy and Suhani Parekh and the NJ HOSA Scholarship won by James Sabino. Junior Shannon Cassidy and senior Julia Lupean received an award for their newsletter, HOSA Happenings, which entails articles and chapter highlights. One group of competitors finished top 8 in the state of New Jersey. That group consisted of seniors Manahel Asif and Natalie Portnoy, juniors Kaitlyn Gilliland, Shannon Gilliland, and Gabby LiButti, and sophomore Camila Bazan in the Mental Health Promotion event.
The next step for HOSA competitors is the national competition in Nashville, Tennessee in June. Winners of the state competition will move on and demonstrate their skills to schools from across the country. Freshman Bridgette Brown, first place winner in the nutrition category, comments, “I am so excited for this opportunity and to be able to compete in such a big event my first year. I am hoping to place again at nationals, but regardless I am really looking forward to the experience and traveling to Nashville!”