GEHS HOSA students at state competition. Photo credit: Heather Ratliff.

On March 15th and 16th, East’s chapter of Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) attended the West Virginia state competition in Huntington, West Virginia. Students competed in a number of healthcare-related events, proving their competencies via several test types: skills, hands-on, paper, and verbal. 

Junior Isabella Harrison said, “I enjoy getting to spend time with my friends and the opportunity to meet new people from other schools.” Harrison and her partner competed in the forensics science competition, which she described as “really fun but also hard.” Her competition involved filing a report sheet, time of death, factors of death, and determining the cause of death. Going to the HOSA competition gave her a new perspective on her career. 

Junior Parker Hale competed in health education. His competition involved creating a PowerPoint presentation, teaching a group of people, and testing their knowledge with the goal of educating them, and Hale and his partner placed second in their competition. “It was great to place because we put a lot of effort and time into our competition,” he said. “Having the anticipation to see if our hard work paid off or not. It was awesome to see that it did indeed pay off.” Wish Parker and his partner good luck as they travel to Houston, Texas for HOSA’s International competition.

Junior Caleb McMillion competed in a behavioral health competition. His competition involved taking a test on various psychological disorders as well as the function and anatomy of the brain and nervous system. ” I felt surprised when I placed second because I didn’t feel that confident when I took the test,” McMillion said. “I enjoyed seeing the hard work and dedication from students across the state. I also enjoyed seeing our school spirit as we tried to take home the Spirit Award.”

Sophomore Carlee Dowdy competed in mental health promotion. Her competition involved researching how social media affects people’s mental health and creating informative posters. Carlee, who placed second and is also headed to the international competition, said, “I enjoyed hanging out with my classmates and putting my academic knowledge to the test. I felt excited because my partner and I put a lot of work into the project. It took a lot of time and research, so winning an award felt great.” 

Sophomore Taylor Brammer competed in sports medicine. Her competition involved having to take a test on anatomical landmarks (bones of the body and insertions of ligaments and tendons) and later a judge called out what happened to the “patient” and competitors had to tape and wrap the injured part of the body. When asked what she enjoyed most about the HOSA competition, Brammer said, “I honestly enjoyed eating Chick-fil-A and viewing the [Marshall] campus!”