//MOLLY HOUSER & EMMA WRIGHT//

The Mountain Vista Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) had a successful weekend at the State Leadership Conference in Denver. The chapter grew dramatically this year, holding a total of 80 members, including five students from Rock Canyon High School and three students from Thunder Ridge High School.

“We started with 30 members and last year we had just over 60. This year, we have over 80 members,” HOSA sponsor Tera Schnacker said. “Mountain Vista never really had a health sciences program before, and now its drawing a lot of students in who have interest.”

Fifty-eight students competed in over 40 different events. Overall, 38 individuals/teams finished in the top ten in their chosen event, and 31 students qualified to compete at the International Leadership Conference in Orlando, Fla. in June.

“HOSA overall was a fun and education experience. I am extremely excited for internationals in Orlando,” junior Nithya Easwaran said. “HOSA Happenings [was my event] where I created a newsletter celebrating our chapter’s accomplishments this year and focusing on our involvement in Wish Week and the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation.”

These are the following students that qualified to compete at the International Leadership Conference this upcoming June:

Allison Marsh – Extemporaneous Writing – 1st Place

Bailey Paschal – Behavioral Health – 1st Place

Eswari Duggirala and Max Probst – Original Medical Innovation – 1st Place

Jess Bennett, Cassie Kinnear, Allison Marsh, and Halle Prilik – HOSA Bowl – 1st Place

Lydia Brown and Harrison Kolar – CERT Skills – 1st Place

Megan Hoodmaker and Kat Jacobsen – Forensic Science – 1st Place

Nithya Easwaran – HOSA Happenings – 1st Place

Paige Novota and Lauren Yu – Health Career Display – 1st Place

Riya Bhat – Dental Science – 1st Place

Shama Bhargav (TRHS), Itala Conroy Cueva (TRHS), and Allyson Nguyen (TRHS) – MRC Partnership – 1st Place

Alice Sun – Medical Assisting – 2nd Place

Brendan Gambrell and Hunter Rizzuto – Existing Medical Innovation – 2nd Place

Kelly Cao – Healthcare Issues Exam – 2nd Place

Maddie Palmgren – Veterinary Science – 2nd Place

Shama Bhargav (TRHS), Itala Conroy Cueva (TRHS), and Allyson Nguyen (TRHS) – Creative Problem Solving – 2nd Place

Emily Gillette, Kayla Kim, Bella Lewis (RCHS), and Nidhi Ramachandra – Community Awareness – 3rd Place

Hailey Merrill – Dental Terminology – 3rd Place

Photos by Emma Wright and Photo Courtesy of Tera Schancker