Edina HOSA recently attended a conference in Brooklyn Center on Nov. 1. HOSA is an activity designed for all students interested in healthcare. Edina HOSA is in its third year at Edina High School. It meets every month for 45 minutes to prepare students for conferences and competitive events. Preparation includes providing resources for participants and working on volunteer work for healthcare.

The activity has two advisers, science teachers Stephen Sanger and Allison Ronglien. 

HOSA traveled to the Heritage Center of Brooklyn Center for the fall conference. This conference took up the entire day and allowed students to both learn about healthcare and see students from across the state interested in the same topics.

The vice-president of HOSA, junior Hannah Hein, was eager to meet new people at the conference. “I’m really excited to see how the new people interact with all these [events]… I hope they like it enough that they come back and try out the competitive events,” she said.

HOSA hosts over 70 competitive events ranging from debates over biotechnology to the HOSA Bowl, a healthcare-based quiz-bowl.

The secretary of HOSA, junior Rishika Anasuri, was very excited about the learning aspect of the conference. “I’m most excited for—just overall—listening to the guest speakers,” she said. The conference hosted over a dozen guest speakers.

The committee lead of HOSA, senior Afshaan Abu, attended an informational session with Nancy Stoehr, a pharmacist who graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. While there, Abu learned more about the field and made a topical lotion.

“It’s super cool to be able to do that stuff as a high schooler,” Anasuri said.