For students at Haven interested in the medical field, health sciences, or simply helping others, the HOSA club provides the perfect opportunity. Haven’s HOSA club is one chapter of the national organization Health Occupations Students of America, which empowers students interested in health through leadership, career exploration, and competition.
“[HOSA] is a club that allows students to innovate their leadership skills and get career exploration specifically in the healthcare field,” co-president junior Rheya Singh said.
The club was first introduced to Haven last year and focused on service projects.
“We made cards for sick children at hospitals, just trying to improve their day and make them happy,” club member Mara Carey said.
This year, the club plans to attend HOSA conferences for the first time, while also continuing to participate in service projects. The competitions will require raising money to pay for transportation, as well as practicing for the competitive events.
“We’re really trying to go to competitions this year. So this year, hopefully, we will be doing a lot of fundraising,” Singh said.
To support this goal, co-presidents Singh and junior Lavanya Dixit have gotten a head start on enrolling Haven into the HOSA national organization and have already begun planning for competition preparation.
“Last year [each meeting] was mostly community service,” Singh said. “But this year, we’re gearing more towards actual practices since we’ll be practicing for events for the competition.”
HOSA competitions offer a wide range of events, so students are able to focus on topics that interest them the most. The events range from teamwork-based challenges to science-oriented research, hands-on health skills, and emergency response simulations. The full list of events offered can be found on HOSA’s personal website.
“There’s a bunch of different events,” Singh said. “There are hands-on, clinical things where you are doing first aid. And then there are debates about health care – or biomedical debates. And there are research papers and infographics that you can make and present.”
The wide variety of ways to participate in the club is one thing that makes HOSA interesting to many different students.
“I’m really interested in the health aspects and just the science part of the club,” said Carey. “I think it’s really cool and very fun.”
The club was created to provide fun and educational opportunities for all students interested in health-related careers or who want to learn more about certain aspects of health sciences.
“We [Lavanya and I] are both really interested in the healthcare field, and we feel like there aren’t enough opportunities provided by the school,” Singh said. “So we wanted to make something.”
The official HOSA mission is “to empower HOSA-Future Health Professionals to become leaders in the global health community through education, collaboration, and experience.”
At Haven, their mission is coming true through student leadership, community service, and the opportunity to explore passions for health and helping others.
“I’m looking forward to competing sometimes and definitely continuing to fundraise and volunteer,” Carey said.
