Iroquois HOSA-Future Health Professionals competed at the International HOSA convention held in Nashville, Tenn., June 22-25.
Eight members and two advisers, Daphne Moeller and Scott Beehler, attended. Two teams, one middle school team and one high school team, participated in the Health Education event.
Eighth-grade students were allowed to join HOSA this year, and the middle school team of Sarah Bice, Natalie Cundy and Skyla Harris scored in the top 10 teams of this international convention event.
The team’s presentation was called “Help the Germ Busters Bust Away Germs.” The presentation, which consisted of a power point, worksheets, interactive activities and a banner, taught students what germs are, when to wash their hands and how to wash them properly. They were required to present all this information, including references and photos from presentations, in a detailed portfolio to a panel of judges.
The high school team, consisting of Lily Blue, Lexi Burma, Hannah Hofhenke and Kaylee Moorhead, developed a Health Education presentation called “The Very Healthy Caterpillar,” which was presented to the Iroquois fourth-grade class.
“Our caterpillar’s ‘body’ was made up of five circles: exercise (red), nutrition (yellow), sleep (green), hygiene (blue) and mental health (purple),” said Blue. “We explained to them that if you want to be healthy, you need to be healthy in all of these areas.”
The caterpillar was displayed on the wall of the elementary school all year long as a reminder.
Burma competed in the Healthcare Issues Exam.
“It’s a 50-question test, and I had one hour to complete it,” Burma said. “The questions were all about healthcare topics/news that have occurred since Jan. 1.”
HOSA Happenings is a compilation of activities completed in the local organization over a period of time and presented in a newsletter. It is judged at state convention and needs a score of 80 to move on to the international competition. Rosalie Wehlander presented Iroquois HOSA Happenings at the convention and received an award.
During the opening session of the convention, the attendees were able to be a part of a bone marrow donor and recipient meeting for the first time. Be The Match has been the HOSA National Service Project for the last two years. HOSA clubs are required to raise at least $500 or offer 500 hours of community service in this project area, and Iroquois received an award for this as well. Moorhead received the Barbara James Service award for 200 hours of volunteer service.
At the convention, trading pins is a popular, fun event. Blue reported that attendees are given a lanyard with their identification and their pins on it.
“It was an awesome way to meet new people from other states and countries,” she said.
A trolley that toured the city of Nashville was a favorite activity of the members while there.They were able to tour the Country Music Hall of Fame, Grand Old Opry/Ryman Auditorium and the Parthenon.
