Regional Leadership Conference 2018

On November 17th, we had our first academic competition of our 2018-19 school year. South Meck High hosted the Southwest Regional Leadership Conference, including North, Cox Mill, Hickory Ridge, Adrey Kell, and Olympic, just to name a few.

It was a bright and sunny day not only outside, but also inside the competition room. We had 4 competitors in Prepared Speaking, a pair in Health Career Display, 2 in Extemp Health Poster, and one in Job Seeking Skills as well as Researched Persuasive Speaking and Writing.

Our day started off by the induction of the Southwest Regional Officers, including our own chapter president: Nishitha Karumuri, who was elected to the Treasurer position. What an exciting moment to celebrate the moments to come for the rest of the year. We are so proud of her!!

Around 9am, we were all dismissed to our competition rooms. With anxious hearts, we all did the best we could. Personally, I think we definitely underestimated our ability to perform well...see first picture of this post.

The awards ceremony elevated North Meck spirits for sure. Serena Raj and Haley Bowland placed second in their Health Career Display, elaborating upon homeopathy, while Nishitha Karumuri also placed second in her Job Seeking Skills. We erupted into applause when Mikaila Thompson took the gold for Extemporaneous Health Poster. Sara O'Brien snagged second in Prepared Speaking, right behind Alexis Bowland, who placed first.

In the regional competition level, many knowledge events are solely online tests, so not all of our HOSA members were present on this day. However, many online testers placed and qualified for states, so their names will not go unrecognized. Stephany Murray-Gramlich placed first in Sports Medicine, making it a two-year gold for this senior. JoyAnn Molloy placed 6th in Nutrition, while Price and Sadler fought for their seventh place to qualify for states. Jordan Briggs and Sofia Ortiz both placed top ten in Nursing Assisting. Brooke Jameson took home 6th in Medical Math.

In most events, with the exception of CPR/First Aid, Nursing Assisting, Forensic Medicine and Sports Medicine, top 5 qualifies for the state competition. Overall, we had 16 HOSA members qualify for states!! Congrats!! Those who qualified are deeply encouraged to participate in this higher, more competitive experiences to immerse themselves within not only their event, but also the medical field. The State Leadership Conference will be held on March 6-9, 2018, in our home city, Charlotte. More information will be coming out soon for HOSA members.

With so many members of our chapter qualified for states, we could not be more excited to be in the new year. However, even if members did not qualify at the regional competition, there is still an opportunity for them to compete!! There are many state-only events that allow any and all to be able to experience a state leadership conference. For 2019, these include Biomedical Laboratory Science, Clinical Nursing, Dental Science, Home Health Aide, Medical Assisting and more!! Therefore, there are so many options for those who either did not place in the regional competition or did not participate.

The first HOSA meeting of 2019 will be Tuesday, January 8th in order to discuss state event registration and our focuses for the second semester. We cannot wait to see everyone back on the HOSA grind!