Pattonville had four students place 1st in the HOSA competition. These students will now move on and compete at the national level. Loudin Cato, Esther Gbloesse, Chloe Kerwin, and Lauren Marsala competed in the creative problem solving competition and placed 1st. HOSA is the Health Occupation Students of America. It’s a club for students who hope to pursue a career in health sciences.
The team who competed in the creative problem solving competition were given a problem and 30 minutes to come up with an innovative solution plan then present it. They were also required to take a multiple choice test prior to the competition.
“The competition was very nerve wracking and I was honestly glad when it was all over. It created another platform of stress and added to a long list of anxieties causing me to feel overwhelmed, but I guess it was totally worth it because now I have a cool medal and something to brag about here and there,” Chloe Kerwin explained what the competition was like for her.
Kerwin’s team placed 1st in their category and are moving onto internationals next. She claims she’s going to watch previous years’ competition videos and study the techniques presented on the tests. The team will also be reviceving judges’ scores and comments to review.
Jobe, Pattonville’s biomedical teacher and HOSA coach, felt competition this year was much smoother than it was last year because of their awareness of the virtual setting. “This year we had the benefit of knowing for months that the event was virtual, preparing for that virtual setting, and having the experience of a previous virtual competition under our belt. Although the virtual competition is not an ideal setting, Missouri HOSA did a great job putting on the conference and offering the best setting possible,” Jobe explained.
Coach Jobe says that “Preparation was all about flexibility and lots of communication. Many students worked in groups where some team members were in person learners and others were virtual. Finding time and space to collaborate was challenging, but I encouraged students to be open to new ideas and communicate with their team members often.”
Loudin, Esther, Chloe, and Lauren are headed to the International Leadership Conference in June to further showcase their abilities in HOSA.