Nine students from Eastland-Fairfield programs earned the title of state champion at the HOSA state competition, and 16 will advance to the International HOSA Conference to compete.
Eastland-Fairfield Career & Technical students had a very successful showing at the 2024 HOSA State Leadership Conference where 45 students from two different programs presented their projects among a large group of students from across Ohio. Nine students from the Bioscience satellite program were crowned state champions in their respective events, and 16 students will be moving on to compete at the international level this summer.
Two teams and one student competing as an individual took top honors in the statewide competition, all hailing from the Bioscience program. The tandem of Keira Hazell (Sr., Gahanna Lincoln), Bhumi Patel (Sr., Gahanna Lincoln), Isa Rivera (Sr., Gahanna Lincoln), and Quinn Toth (Sr., Gahanna Lincoln) earned the gold medal in the Public Health team category. This marks the second year that the group has placed first overall at the state competition. Last year, they were state champions in the Medical Innovation category.
Ellie Newman (Jr., Gahanna Lincoln) took first place overall in the Medical Art category, which is a state-only competition.
In the Medical Innovation event, the team of Addison Galloway (Sr., Gahanna Lincoln), Sena Mekonnen (Sr., Pickerington North), Pallavi Sistla (Sr., Gahanna Lincoln), and Janna Wilkerson (Sr., Gahanna Lincoln) were crowned state champions.
Four students were named state runners-up in their respective categories with another team of four joining them on the podium. Students who finished in the top three of their event earned their ticket to compete at the HOSA International Leadership Conference, which will be held in Houston, Texas, between June 25-30, 2024. Sixteen students will represent EFCTS and the Bioscience program at the International Leadership Conference, the most in four years.
Thirty of the 45 students who participated in this year’s HOSA State Leadership Conference finished inside the top 10 of their event, including Sports Medicine senior Jordan Simpson (Whitehall-Yearling). Simpson, who is a part of the Sports Medicine program located at Gahanna-Lincoln High School, placed eighth overall in the Medical Terminology category.
A list of HOSA state placements and international qualifiers is listed below.
HOSA-Future Health Professionals is a global student-led organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services and several federal and state agencies. HOSA’s mission is to empower HOSA-Future Health Professionals to become leaders in the global health community, through education, collaboration, and experience.
Bioscience and Sports Medicine are the two Eastland-Fairfield Career & Technical Schools satellite programs that are members of HOSA, and have locations at Gahanna-Lincoln High School and New Albany High School. For more information about Eastland-Fairfield Career & Technical Schools and its high school and adult programs, please visit www.EastlandFairfield.com.
List of HOSA State Conference Top 10 Placers (name, class, home school, event, place)
Addison Galloway (Sr., Gahanna), Sena Mekonnen (Sr., Pickerington North), Pallavi Sistla (Sr., Gahanna), Janna Wilkerson (Sr., Gahanna) - Medical Innovation, 1st $
Keira Hazell (Sr., Gahanna), Bhumi Patel (Sr., Gahanna), Isa Rivera (Sr., Gahanna), Quinn Toth (Sr., Gahanna) - Public Health, 1st $
Elle Newman (Jr., Gahanna) - Medical Art, 1st $
Jaleea Gamble (Sr., Reynoldsburg) - Pathophysiology, 2nd $
Ella King (Jr., Gahanna) - Research Poster, 2nd $
Lily Canini (Sr., Pickerington North), Jesse Johnson (Sr., Gahanna) - Health Career Display, 2nd $
Marleigh McFarland (Sr., Gahanna), Asa Mattson (Sr. Gahanna), Samantha York (Sr., Gahanna), Anna Zingale (Sr., Gahanna) - Community Awareness, 3rd $
Soniya Adhikari (Jr., Gahanna), Sarah Steele (Jr., Gahanna) - Medical Innovation, 4th
Marty Guciardo (Jr., Gahanna) - Extemporaneous Writing, 7th
Jordan Simpson (Sr., Whitehall-Yearling) - Medical Terminology, 8th
Brian Popelka (Jr., Gahanna), Lola Campbell (Sr., Gahanna), Samuel Dawson (Sr., Reynoldsburg), Patrick Guinther (Sr., Gahanna), Chiara Hill (Sr., Hamilton Twp.), Amayah Robinson (Sr., Reynoldsburg), Matthew Ryan (Sr., Gahanna), Aubrey Powell (Jr., Gahanna) - Parli Pro, 8th
Blake Connell (Sr., Hamilton Twp.), Jaisen Simpson (Sr., Whitehall-Yearling) - Forensic Science, 10th
$ denotes group/individual has qualified for International Leadership Conference competition