Fair warning, this is going to be a long and sentimental one, because you can’t spend seven years in a life-changing organization and not have something to say about it, but don't worry, I have plenty of pictures to make this a little easier to read through :)
I remember the first time I walked into a HOSA meeting as a freshman in high school, not knowing a single soul. I had just transferred to Cedar Ridge High School (Go Raiders!) after spending the last five years in charter school, so in addition to having to figure out what to wear everyday after the luxury/tragedy of wearing a school uniform every day, I also had to figure out where I belonged in this giant school full of over 2000 strangers.
But as soon as I walked through the door into a lecture hall for the first HOSA meeting of the year, I knew I had found it. I was inspired by the eloquence of the officers in the front of the room, the shared passion for healthcare with the people around me, and the dedication of the advisors standing in the back. That year, I plunged headfirst into HOSA by teaching CPR compression, decorating cards for the nursing home, dressing up as a strawberry for the local hospital’s Trunk-or-Treat, racing wheelchairs in the courtyard, and meeting the people who would become my best friends.
I attended my first HOSA conference when I was in 10th grade when I competed in Community Awareness with two of my fellow officers, Kayleigh and Sneha. It was through this experience that I discovered that I love cardiology, as we taught hands-only CPR to over 2000 people during sporting events, after the SAT, and even outside our school’s annual haunted house. We won 1st place at State, and got to travel to Anaheim (yay Disney!) with Mrs. Hamilton for my first-ever HOSA National Leadership Conference! It was my first time trading pins and meeting HOSA members from other states, and I remember the feeling of pure victory when I FINALLY got a Hawaii pin (It is still one of my most prized possessions to this day).
In 11th grade, I had the honor of being elected to serve as the president of Cedar Ridge HOSA, and during that year, we became the largest student-led organization on campus. Many of us took a Certified Nursing Assistant class with Ms. Williams, one of our advisors, and I competed with three of my amazing officer teammates: Jenn, Sneha, and Sarah. We were able to go into a local middle school to teach student athletes about CPR and heart health, then I had the opportunity to go to Nashville for HOSA Nash-ionals 2016! Music City treated us so well, and I met incredible people from Texas who I now get to navigate the exciting journey through medical school with.
My senior year of high school, I once again got to lead CRHS HOSA as the president, and we. made. waves. We had booths at elementary school health fairs, made pillowcases for the childrens’ hospital, hosted our first blood drive, walked in the Homecoming Parade with Mrs. Colclasure, and participated in a NAMI walk to raise awareness and eliminate stigma surrounding mental illness. Some of us got to go to Orlando that summer and I remember sitting in the closing session of the (now-international) HOSA Leadership Conference. I was overcome with immense joy for the incomparable experiences I was given through this organization, but also sadness that it was all coming to an end.
Fortunately though, that end didn’t come. The week before I started college, I met a HOSA National officer (basically a celebrity) and former HOSA area officer who reminded me of why I love HOSA so much. We joined TAMU HOSA, which at the time had less than ten members, but what we lacked in numbers, we made up for with a huge love for healthcare. We volunteered at blood drives (please donate blood, hospitals are short right now!), helped build mobile health clinics, and even had Friendsgiving together. I was elected as the TAMU HOSA Vice President, and the summer after my freshman year of college, I was selected to sing a Texas-themed set at the Texas HOSA meeting at the HOSA International Conference in Dallas (whew, that’s a mouthful!).
That experience changed my entire life. I met some of the Texas HOSA officers and the Officer Coordinator, Mrs. Kelly Cowan, in Dallas, but little did I know that just a few weeks later, I would be asked to serve alongside them as the Texas HOSA State Post-Secondary/Collegiate Vice President (never mind, THAT’s a mouthful!). The team was made up of 5 rising seniors in high school who are incredible forces to be reckoned with: Srijith, Aaron, Arianna, Hebah, and Angelica. I have amazing memories lobbying in Washington D.C. filming conference promo videos in San Antonio, teaching officers from other states how to line dance, and just spreading #HOSAHYPE with them.
Because I joined the team later than the other officers, I was officially inducted only two days before our state conference, during which I ran up onto the stage from the audience riding an imaginary motorcycle, got blown in the face with a leaf-blower to raise money for pediatric cancer, and had the opportunity to sing the national anthem. I fulfilled the seemingly-impossible dream of becoming a state officer that I had since I was a sophomore in high school. I’m not going to lie, I don’t think I’ve ever cried harder than I did as I said goodbye to my officer team and drove away from the San Antonio conference center.
Then we come to this year. As many of you know, I studied abroad for the first semester of my final year of college, and I honestly thought my time in HOSA was over. But I came back to the TAMU HOSA officer team welcoming me back with open arms and an officer polo, and I realized my HOSA story is far from over. Before everything was shut down due to the pandemic, we had the biggest membership TAMU HOSA had ever seen, and they all stuck around when our meetings moved from Rudder Tower to Zoom video calls. At the end of April, we had a little award ceremony where we handed out superlatives and announced the new officer team, and just like that, I was a HOSA alumna.
I am so honored to have been a part of an organization that brings together people from a diverse array of backgrounds and experiences to accomplish one goal: "empower HOSA-Future Health Professionals to become leaders in the global health community through education, collaboration, and experience." HOSA provides career and networking for its over 200,000 members, underwent an entire re-branding campaign from Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) to HOSA-Future Health Professionals to make sure that it was inclusive of members all around the world, and they have openly taken a stance in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
It is largely because of this amazing organization and the people I have met along the way that I am now able to pursue a career in medicine, and seven years just didn't feel like enough time. But regardless of how many years may pass, whenever I hear "HOSA, HOSA, HOSA!” I will always respond with “WE LOVE HOSA!”
Much love,
Sunitha Konatham
CRHS, TAMU, and Texas HOSA alumna
P.S. Thank you doesn't even begin to convey my immense gratitude to:
My advisors: Mrs. Colclasure, Mrs. Hamilton, Ms. Williams, Mrs. Chandler, Mrs. Barrera, Mrs. Cowan, and Victor Castillo
My Cedar Ridge Officers: Kayleigh, AJ, Jenn, Sneha, Josh, Zaid, Sarah B., Sarah C., Divya, Gwynn, Emi, Claudio, Manju, Quinton, Audrey, Yasmeen, and Katie
My TAMU HOSA Officers: Jeswin, Karli, Emilie, Bailey, Erin, Lisset, Aakash, Aysha, Carmel, Daniel, Dylan, and Morgan (and Hobbs Castillo)
My Texas HOSA Officers: Srijith, Aaron, Arianna, Hebah, and Angelica
My brother, Daniel, who joined HOSA for one single year even though he has no interest in healthcare simply because I hyped it up so much :)
You (the reader) for making it all the way to the end!!
