Throughout the summer, students go to the pool, take grand vacations, and just all in all relax before the next school year. But this summer Klein HOSA, Health Occupations Students of America,  was on their way to bring pride to the school. 

On June 21-25, 14 Bearkats made the trip to Nashville to compete in the HOSA International Leadership Conference, bringing home the bronze medal overall.

“I would say the best part of the experience was presenting to the judges.” graduate Neeraj Suresh, who placed first in creative problem solving with his team, said. “At ILC my team and I gave our best presentation to date and it felt amazing to give such a fluid and dynamic presentation. Everything was flowing correctly and my team and I connected just as we hoped and walking out of the presentation room was an exhilarating feeling.”

Over the five days, the team competed in multiple events, such as: cultural diversities and disparities, where a student took third; creative problem solving, in which three students took first; MRC partnership, where four students placed tenth; parliamentary procedure, in which five students won first; occupational health and safety, where a student placed fourth; and home health aide, where a student took first place.

“[The competition] was really nerve racking to be honest,” senior Sindhu Sannabhadti, who placed third in cultural diversities and disparities, said. “Placing at State is a huge accomplishment but then when you get to Internationals and see so many other competitors who did just as good as you, you feel really intimidated. You have to approach it with the mindset of ‘I can’t control how other people do, I can only control myself.’”

To prepare for the competition, HOSA students spent a lot of time studying, some of them even making sure to study every day. However, during the competition the students got time to take a break and hang out with their fellow competitors.

“With HOSA, I was able to meet some of my closest friends and was able to experience ILC with them.” senior Ayesha Abid, who competed in parliamentary procedure with her team and placed first, said. “Even if you’re not interested in medicine, HOSA offers so much more than that and that’s what I love most. Overall, HOSA means family, support, and the best four years of your life.”

While the journey there may have been long, HOSA’s showing this year was a sight to see, with all students in attendance placing in the top ten for their category.

“To me, HOSA means family. For the most part, everyone is looking out for each other and trying to push each other to be the best,” Suresh said. “Historically Klein HOSA has been extremely dominant on the international level and it’s really due to two things. Our amazing advisors who do everything to help us succeed. But also the attitude of the members. At a certain point, especially with people who go to ILC, we are there because our sole intent is to win. We didn’t make it that far for anything that isn’t a gold medal.”