Students Attend HOSA Region 2 Leadership Conference

 By: Staff Writer Rishab Ramapriyan

The California Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA) Region 2 Leadership Conference was held on Saturday, October 25 at the Mission Valley Regional Occupation Center. Multiple students from MSJ and Hopkins Junior High attended this event.

HOSA is a national organization dedicated to providing students with opportunities to pursue health care careers and develop leadership, knowledge, and skills related to the health care field. California HOSA Region 2 consists of 35 chapters spanning from the California-Oregon border to Monterey. At the Regional Leadership Conference (RLC), attendees could take part in either a leadership strand or a membership strand.  The leadership strand was for current or aspiring chapter officers, while the membership strand was for new and returning HOSA members.

Each strand included a set of workshops for members to attend. Some workshops were led by California State HOSA Region 2 Vice President Iyesha Puri, a senior at MSJ, and some featured guest speakers. Attendees had the opportunity to listen to a variety of medical professionals, including an emergency room doctor and an occupational therapist. The nature of these workshops generally involved building leadership and teamwork skills. HOSA’s national service project for this year is the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and a representative from the society spoke to the attendees at RLC.

Students from MSJ presented a demonstration for the HOSA Bowl competitive event. HOSA Bowl is a buzzer style event that covers HOSA related information, health related knowledge, and parliamentary procedure. Attendees had the opportunity to participate in a mock simulation of this event, allowing them to get a sense of the HOSA competitive events program. A group of students from American High School also spoke about Social Media and Technology Usage. Chapter officers later participated in a State Officer-led plan of working meetings. Together they planned multiple activities for developing local chapters, building an interconnected community within Region 2, and fundraising for HOSA’s national service project.

Reflecting on RLC, Region 2 Vice President Iyesha Puri said, “RLC was my first opportunity to bring all the chapters together, a step closer to my goal of building an interconnected community.” RLC featured various teambuilding and leadership workshops, interactive activities, and guest speakers. Chapter officers from across the region were able to successfully layout their efforts towards chapter development, networking, fundraising, and community partnerships for the year. “I hope that each member left with a more diverse network, new leadership skills, and most importantly, more passion for healthcare. The overwhelming enthusiasm, commitment, and dedication for the organization from each member left me with beautiful memories to cherish from this weekend and a newfound motivation to do even more for Region 2,” said Puri.

California HOSA will have its State Leadership Conference (SLC) in March 2015, held in Sacramento. Many students from the MSJ HOSA chapter are expected to attend this event. Students who place in the top 3 in their competitive event at SLC will attend the National Leadership Conference in June, held in Anaheim, CA.