By Kate Sinsel
This year, Silver Lake High School adopted a new organization, HOSA, to serve as an opportunity for Mustangs interested in healthcare fields. “The mission of HOSA is to empower HOSA–Future Health Professionals to become leaders in the global health community through education, collaboration, and experience.”
The idea for Silver Lake’s first-ever HOSA chapter began with senior MaKenna Karr, who was inspired after taking Medical Math and hearing from numerous guest speakers over the past two years. According to HOSA advisor Terri Rech, “MaKenna demonstrated initiative and leadership by independently approaching school administration to advocate for establishing a HOSA chapter. She presented the benefits based on what she learned from my previous experience leading a chapter in Kearney and seeing the rapid success of the GISH HOSA program.” Rech explained that Karr believed Silver Lake’s strong group of students interested in healthcare deserved a program to help them explore their passions.
Since its founding in 1976, HOSA has grown to include more than 260,000 members across 6,200 chapters worldwide, including associations in the United States, Canada, China, Puerto Rico, and beyond. HOSA provides students with opportunities to explore careers in the health sciences and participate in competency-based competitive events in seven categories: Health Science, Health Professions, Leadership, Teamwork, Academic Testing, Recognition, and Emergency Preparedness.
Rech explained that HOSA–Future Health Professionals is an international organization dedicated to preparing emerging leaders for careers in the health sciences. “HOSA provides students with opportunities to develop leadership and technical skills through competitive events, community service projects, career exploration, and networking with health professionals,” she said. “Beyond competition, HOSA fosters professional growth by connecting students with mentors, encouraging volunteerism, and inspiring a lifelong commitment to health and service.”
Already, members have begun their journey as future health professionals by attending the Fall Leadership Conference in York on October 9. The event brought together chapters from across Nebraska to learn about leadership, career opportunities, and upcoming competitions.
Sophomore Molly Hemberger said she joined HOSA because it helps her plan for a future in the medical field. “I joined HOSA because it helps direct me more towards colleges meant for nursing. I have learned about many opportunities and different programs you can go into,” Hemberger explained. She also shared that attending the Fall Leadership Conference opened her eyes to the organization’s focus on leadership and upcoming opportunities. “We learned about how to be leaders at FLC, and there are conferences for mental health and nursing coming up,” she said.
Another member, Libby Soucek, shared that HOSA has helped her explore a variety of health-related careers. “I joined HOSA because I was interested in going into a medical field, but I wasn’t sure what exactly I wanted to do,” Soucek said. “HOSA has helped me gain more knowledge and open up new pathways to careers I didn’t even know existed.” She added, “With HOSA, I’ve been able to explore the careers I’m interested in, such as becoming a physical therapist and a mental health practitioner.”
Brooklyn Himmelberg echoed those thoughts, saying that HOSA has already been a valuable experience. “The reason I joined HOSA is because it’ll help with college, and since I’m interested in the medical field, it gives me a great opportunity to learn more about anything medical related,” she said. “I’ve learned more about the medical field and what HOSA is about.”
Rech shared that one of the most exciting aspects of HOSA is its Competitive Events Program, which allows students to explore nearly every corner of healthcare through real-world applications. “Events cover topics such as medical terminology, medical math, nursing, EMT, sports medicine, CPR/First Aid, public health, public speaking, job-seeking skills, creative problem solving, and more,” she said. “Through these events, students gain real-world experience, improve teamwork and communication skills, and connect what they learn in class to potential careers.”
All three members emphasized the importance of growing the program for future students. “We’re trying to get people involved and start a good program for all medical and vet-related students,” Hemberger said. Soucek agreed, noting, “One of our goals is to get more people involved in HOSA so they, too, can explore medical careers.” Himmelberg added, “Our goals are to gain more people in the chapter as the years progress and help them explore the medical field to see if they would enjoy working in it.”
Looking toward the future, the members are confident that HOSA will guide them toward their career goals. “It’ll help me in my future by leading me into my career and helping when applying for colleges,” Himmelberg said. Soucek agreed, adding, “I believe HOSA is going to lead me into my future career and help me be prepared to take the right steps into my future.”
Rech said she’s confident that Silver Lake’s HOSA chapter will continue to grow and open doors for students. “Previously, I led a HOSA group at Kearney and helped GISH start a new HOSA group,” she said. “We competed at state and international events and promoted leadership through state officer opportunities. I’m excited to see Silver Lake students experience that same level of growth and success.”