Every spring, HOSA attends the State conference in Rolla, Mo. The competition is the culmination of all of the practice and preparation of the students throughout the school year.

Whereas many schools that competed on March 27 participate in a HOSA class, MHS’ involvement is strictly as a club. Lisa Del Pizzo, HOSA sponsor, said that this comes at a disadvantage preparation wise for the students. However, they do not let it hinder their performance.

“We always have great kids who seem to have a desire to want to do well and be successful, so I am not surprised we had good results,” Del Pizzo said.

Competing in events ranging from speech and debate to quiz bowl, the HOSA students participate in one specialized event in front of a panel of medical professional judges.

The club departed with 31 students and 13 of those students placed top five or higher.

“It just shows that our kids do a great job with the preparation and representing Marquette,” Del Pizzo said. “We really had an outstanding year.”

Students that place in the top three of their event, automatically qualify for nationals. Though they may choose not compete, Del Pizzo said it is an accomplishment to qualify.

Sid Balaji, junior, was one of six teams/individuals to qualify for nationals. Placing first in his event, medical spelling, gave him a sense of lasting pride, he said.

“I was surprised,” he said. “My expectation was top ten, but I didn’t expect top three.”

Balaji’s event consists of two parts: definition of medical jargon and oral spelling competition.

He said his combined elementary and middle school experience with spelling bee competitions and his desire to enter the medical profession enabled him to succeed at the competition.

“It is the medical realm that you have around you,” Balaji said. “I want go into pre-med for undergraduate study but there is no other club at MHS that actually focuses on medicine.”

Balaji and many others are among the growing numbers of the HOSA organization. Del Pizzo said the competition is rapidly growing from just a couple of years ago only having 100 participants to now having over 1,000.

“The popularity of this club is growing exponentially across the state,” she said.

Results:

• Neelansh Bute – 1st place: Nutrition Test
• Sid Balaji – 1st place: Medical Spelling
• Seth Wallerstein – 1st place: Medical Math
• Ali Lenk – 2nd place: Clinical Specialty
• Emma Bruere and Emily Saxon – 2nd place: Medical Innovation
• Tiffany Yoon, Kelley Sinning, and Neha Bollam – 3rd place: Medical Innovation
• Asher Wu, Aarya Saranathan, and Kevin Zeng – 4th place: HOSA Bowl
• Gana Aleti – 4th place: Pharmacology Test