As the site for the Michigan HOSA District 7 Leadership Conference, Saginaw Valley’s campus served as a site for more than 600 high school high schools to practice what they’ve learned in their health sciences courses.
HOSA: An Association of Health Science Students is a national career and technical student organization endorsed by the U.S. Department of Education and the Health Science Technology Education Division of the Association for Career and Technical Education.
Members are able to explore career options and take on leadership roles while gaining real-world experience in the future disciplines.
Formerly known as Health Occupations Students of America, the organization also hosts regional, state and national conferences that consist of competitive events which give students the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge through both written and role-playing events.
On Friday, Jan. 9, students from 25 counties in northeast and southeast Michigan were judged on their knowledge in a variety of categories, such as dental science, clinical nursing, physical therapy and veterinary science.
Competitive events took place in various classrooms in Gilbertson Hall; an awards ceremony followed in the Cardinal Gymnasium.
Allison Ramirez, a senior at All Saints Central High School in Bay City, Michigan, placed third in the nursing assisting event.
Ramirez’s dedicated preparation was a main contributor to her success.
“To prepare for my event, I studied little by little for a couple months,” she said. “There was a lot to study, so I wanted to be prepared. I learned that I actually retained a lot more information than I thought I did.”
After graduation, she plans on working as a certified nursing assistant while studying at Central Michigan University to become a physician’s assistant.
Kristen Smale, a junior at Garber High School in Essexville, Michigan, earned the top honor in the Certified Emergency Response Team (CERT) Skills event.
“I think the best part about participating is learning how to discipline myself to study and work hard to achieve what I want,” Smale said.
She believes the experience will also be beneficial in her future career.
“This was a great opportunity for me because I someday want to work in the emergency room at a hospital,” Smale said. “It helped me see what it would be like to be in a situation where peoples’ lives are in danger. I also learned how to stay calm and focused while providing care to as many people as possible and how to work with a partner and rely on her to help with procedures.”
Ramirez, Smale and other students who placed in the top ten of their event will advance to the State Leadership Conference, which will take place in Acme, Michigan, from April 16 to 18.
