By Madeline Chalkely
It was 11:30 p.m. in Tyler, Texas, and senior Aisleen Menezes gathered in a hotel room with HOSA Area Officers running around in a frenzy trying to piece together the last minute details for the next day’s convention.
“Someone threw me a hot glue gun and was like, ‘here make the spirit stick’,” HOSA state president Menezes said. “Everybody was so stressed out, but we all ended up breaking out in laughter.”
On October 21st in White Palace, Texas, HOSA area officers led the annual HOSA Fall Conference with nearly 600 Texas students involved in the organization.
“We went through stations where we learned about HOSA, officers, scholarships, [and] event competitions,” said Maddie Barnett, Richardson senior and HOSA Chapter historian. “We could talk to experienced people who have already gone through all this.”
Students also learned from different speakers about qualities of a leader. One of the speakers was a practicing neurologist who was diagnosed with a learning disability as a child.
“He [told us] that no matter what happens, no matter what people tell you, you can’t give up because [he] didn’t and he grew up to be an amazing person who has saved hundreds of lives,” freshman Anna Li said .
Li said that she assumed the conference would consist of learning basic health science information, but she said she learned much more.
“Ever since I was a kid my parents were like, ‘you’re not brave, you’re not good enough, you can’t be a doctor’,” Li said. “They had this stereotypical image of doctors being brave, courageous, and not as nervous as I am.”
Li said her parents pressured her into joining the Richardson Law Magnet instead of Health Science to pursue a career in law.
“I realized I don’t feel this passion, I don’t feel this adrenaline running through me when I talk about it – I felt like [law] wasn’t the right thing for me,” Li said. “I feel like sometimes there are kids who are being negatively influenced by other people like their peers and even their elders.”
Li said that the HOSA Fall Conference helped her realize she can do anything she wants to do as an occupation because HOSA has instilled the value of teamwork, trust, honesty and life.
“HOSA just opens up a lot of doors and avenues where you can make connections,” Barnett said. “It helps get your hands dirty.”