July 18, 2024
Story by Joe Vinduska
Courtesy photo submitted
Students from Barton’s chapter of HOSA (Future Health Professionals) joined about 12,500 students in Houston, Texas earlier this summer at the 2024 International Leadership Conference (ILC), where they competed against students from all 50 states as well as students from China, American Samoa, South Korea, Canada, Mexico and Puerto Rico.
Barton HOSA Advisor Karen Gunther said the heart of the ILC is the International Competitive Events Program, a showcase where HOSA members display their knowledge in both college and career readiness.
“These exceptional HOSA members have earned their place by excelling at district, regional, state, and national levels, with over 600 health professionals serving as judges to evaluate their mastery of industry-aligned concepts and skills,” she said. “Barton HOSA would like to thank everyone for their support, and we are very proud of not only the Barton students but all the students across the organization.”
All four of the students attending were recognized on stage at the Grand Awards Ceremony Saturday evening as top ten competitors in their individual events.
Valeria Gallardo placed first overall in the Phlebotomy competition, receiving a gold medal and gift basket from the event sponsoring organization, which included a voucher for a free certification exam.
Kaden Baird placed third in the Medical Assisting competition, receiving the bronze medal.
Brianna Auker was recognized in the top five in Clinical Lab Science.
Hannah Dapogny was recognized in the top five for Nurse Assisting.
Along with the competitive events, students were able to participate in many break-out sessions, attend the Vendor EXPO, and visit the Johnson Space Center (NASA).
Gunther attended the conference as an International Competitive Event team member and helped organize and prepare the over 90 competitive events for more than 12,000 middle school, high school, and college competitors.
HOSA is a global, student-led organization recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services. The group’s mission is to empower members to become leaders in the global health community through education, collaboration, and experience. HOSA actively promotes career opportunities in the health industry and aims to enhance the delivery of quality health care to all people.
To learn more, please contact Gunther at [email protected] or (620) 786-1133.
Photo cutline: (From left) Barton HOSA members Hannah Dapogny, Kaden Baird, Valeria Gallardo, and Brianna Auker pose for a photo at the awards ceremony in Houston earlier this summer. Aaron Deason and Alidsha Vazquez Centeno also qualified for ILC but were unable to attend.