![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
Officers of the Harker HOSA-Future Health Professionals chapter informed members about upcoming competition and conference opportunities on Tuesday.
President Sahngwie Yim (12) began the meeting by introducing the officer team and adviser Matthew Harley. She explained the organization’s mission of empowering future health professionals to become global health leaders and provided an overview of opportunities to connect and learn at HOSA conferences.
“We wanted to get newer members acquainted with the competition structure, the officers and the conference,” Sahngwie said. “I hope that new members were able to learn about the variety of different options that HOSA has, the process of competing and going to conferences and what they would gain from going to a conference and competing.”
Vice President of Testing Eva Cheng (11) discussed the over 80 competitive events categories available at local, state and international levels, including Health Informatics and Medical Law and Ethics. Vice President of Conference Affairs Angelina Antony (11) provided a timeline for online testing and the upcoming Cal-HOSA State and International Leadership Conferences, with participants qualifying for subsequent rounds.
(Jonathan Szeto)
“I’m interested in the medical field, and I thought that this would be a great opportunity for me,” attendee Alexis Santosa (9) said. “The biomedical laboratory science competition sounded really interesting. I definitely want to try to do it and see how far I can go with it.”
Founded in 2020 by Harley and Medical Club members, Harker’s HOSA chapter has grown in size with multiple members receiving recognition in competition and leadership events. Ninth graders make up a large majority of participants, but Harley hopes students across all grade levels benefit from attending HOSA events.
“I love how HOSA helps students be more aware of all the different career opportunities in healthcare,” Harley said. “It’s not just medicine or being a medical or surgical doctor; to have a mode for students to deep dive as deep as they want into potential topics and careers is really great.”
