By Mubarrat Choudhury
After rescheduling and relocating the conference due to unexpected snow days and the “RHS plague,” the Area 3 HOSA officers waved the ceremonial spirit stick on stage while the crowd screamed in excitement at the opening of the two-day competition.
The HOSA Area Conference, hosted at Pearce High School, brought together schools from Area 3 to compete in various healthcare topics for a chance to advance to the Texas State Conference.
“Schools from all over come and compete in the Area conference,” junior Area Vice President Aisleen Menezes said. “It’s amazing to see hundreds of students from all over North Texas fill Pearce and compete in something we are all so passionate about.”
Students competed in medical terminology, medical math, biotechnology, clinical nursing, epidemiology, physical therapy etc. and many other leadership and teamwork events. Before qualifying for the Area conference, students first took tests in their specific competitive event.
After passing the required test, students took several weeks to prepare for the Area conference. This year’s topics included vitamin supplements, obesity, healthcare for war veterans, child hunger and mental health.
“The 2014 Area Hosa Competition has been a great experience with all my friends and competitors from around the area,” junior Levi Rolfe said. “I don’t think anything can compare to the level of professionalism and competitiveness that the students from HOSA have brought to area. These competitions are really challenging, and we all worked hard to prepare for the rigor of our area.”
At the conference, Richardson also elected four students to higher positions in the area, state and national levels in the 2014-2015 officer endorsement. Richardson students say they look forward to competing at the State competition held in San Antonio, Texas.
“Despite all the craziness about rescheduling the conference due to the plague, I believe that the conference was a success,” junior and Area Secretary Jackson Durbin said. “It was awesome to how well we all become a tighter knit organization, especially with all of the competitors we will be sending to state as well as the all the students we are endorsing for so many leadership positions. I really enjoyed getting to know all the amazing people in our area.”
The following are conference results.
Richardson students elected as Area 3 HOSA officers for 2014-2015:
Diana Acosta-Valle – Vice President
Raisa Ifquat – Reporter
Suzie O’Michael – Historian
Students endorsed by Area 3 to run for State Office:
Jackson Durbin
Aisleen Menezes
Student endorsed by Area 3 to run for National Office:
Christine Kim
Area 3 Scholarship Winners:
Farah Faizuddin
Christine Kim
Outstanding HOSA Chapter Student:
Khanh Ton
Competitive Event Winners:
Tabassum Ahmed – 1st place Medical Art Poster
Brenna McConniel, Coleman Odlozil – 2nd place Forensic Medicine
Aisleen Menezes, Alicia Leon, Farah Faizuddin, Lyna Nguyen, Ramlah Hingora, Tabassum Ahmed, Yasmeen Alqasi – 2nd place Parliamentary Procedure
Madalyn Barnett – 3rd place Physical Therapy
Raisa Ifquat – 3rd place Extemporaneous Writing
Lisset Padron, Robin Thomas – 3rd place Forensic Medicine
John (Somey) Atuchukwu – 4th place Medical Art Poster
Arham Bheda, Hafsah Jemal, Jannah Nasrallah, Jennifer Tran, Melissa Wong, Samiul Alam – 4th place Parliamentary Procedure
Alexa Lutchman – 5th placeMedical Art Poster
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