![Being captain means a lot to Larson, having played basketball for his entire life. When asked about who their biggest competitor was going to be this season, Larson was very confident.
“[We have] No competitors,” Larson said.](https://ballardtalisman.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/brewster-color-1200x800.jpg)
On Nov. 2, 2024, the BHS HOSA Club (Health Occupations Students of America, Future Health Professionals) attended the Fall Leadership Conference (FLC), held at Everett College.
According to Rebecca Howsmon, the Ballard HOSA chapter faculty mentor, HOSA is an international organization which allows students interested in health, medicine or biotech-related careers to delve deeper into their personal interests and to “take [their learning] to the next level.”
HOSA attends three main events each school year: the Fall Leadership Conference (FLC), the State Leadership Conference (SLC) and the International Leadership Conference (ILC).
FLC exists to give students a chance to get a sense of “what HOSA is” and to participate in a day of events and lectures, as Howsmon shared. Contrastly, SLC and ILC are competition-based events which require students to qualify. During these events, students get a chance to compete in highly specified competitions. Examples include “dentistry, veterinary medicine, medical terminology, first aid, forensics and biotech” (Howsmon).
While high achieving students can gain recognition within the program, HOSA does not give out monetary prizes; instead, the focus is on the invaluable lessons learned and the community built along the way. These leadership conferences are not only a time for students to learn about a field in which they are passionate about, but are also a time for students to have fun and bond with students who share similar passions.
“Events were held throughout the day and students got to attend four different sessions” during FLC, said BHS senior and HOSA Vice President Violet Martel. These events covered a diverse spread of topics, including “lectures on profession specific skills, leadership seminars and networking building opportunities” (Martel).
Howsmon shared that NW200 is regularly full on Mondays during HOSA meetings. These meetings serve as valuable time to “prepare for competitions, to gather necessary materials, listen to guest speakers working in the medical field and provide students with necessary tools to study for the competition of their choice” (Martel). Martel also shared that some of this time is used to “find more outside of school group volunteer efforts”.
According to senior Carina Mazzola, the President of HOSA at Ballard, so far this year the club has been part of initiating the “EKG project at BHS, a program where students can get heart screening” and is working with Assistant Principal James Leutzinger to “update the first aid kits in each classroom”.
