Tech Center student places in top ten at international health competition

Tribune Newswire

Muskegon County – Muskegon Area Career Tech Center senior Holly Baker (Oakridge) and her Health Science Academy Instructor, Kathy Andrews kicked off the summer with a trip to Nashville, Tennessee to compete in the HOSA International Leadership Conference, June 22–25, 2016. 

 Holly earned the opportunity to advance to the international competition in Nashville after earning a silver medal at the state conference in Traverse City, Michigan in April. Only the top three winners at the state competition qualified to attend the HOSA International Leadership Conference. In Nashville, Holly once again earned high honors with a top ten spot in the Extemporaneous Health Poster contest.

Over 12,000 middle school, high school, and college students were in attendance. In addition to competitions, students heard from educational and entertaining speakers such as Vice Admiral Vivek Murthy, M.D., the 19^th U.S. Surgeon General and keynote speaker Brad Montague, creator of “Kid President” a popular YouTube inspirational video series. There were also leadership courses, tours of healthcare facilities, exhibits by professional healthcare associations, and workshops covering topics such as texting and driving, public speaking, how to get into medical school and more.

 In the fall, Holly plans to attend Baker College of Muskegon. There she will study Pharmacy Tech/Marketing in pursuit of a career in Pharmaceutical Sales.

HOSA provides a unique program of leadership development, motivation, and recognition exclusively for secondary, postsecondary, adult, and collegiate students enrolled in health science education and biomedical science programs or who have interests in pursuing careers in health professions. Since its inception in 1976, HOSA has grown steadily reaching over 200,000 members through 51 chartered HOSA Associations, American Samoa, Canada, District of Columbia, Germany, Italy, and Puerto Rico.