This past summer, 17 students in MATA’s Health and Medical Sciences program traveled to Houston, Texas to compete in HOSA’s  International Leadership Conference (ILC). HOSA is an organization for future health professionals. To qualify for internationals, each student had to place in the top three spots in their category at the state conference. 

The Academies of Loudoun had two students place in their categories at the conference – Rithika Kodangal and Helena Hosseni. Rithika placed First in Pharmacy Science and Helena placed Fourth in Health Career Photography. 

The Academies Online was able to reach out to Rithika and ask her some questions about her competition and her experience of being in HOSA. 

Q: What category did you compete in? Can you explain what it is and how it works?

A: I competed in the Pharmacy Science category, which consisted of a written test and then a skills portion. The test was around 60 questions and would be based on three main pharmacy textbooks. There were 7 possible pharmacy skills I could be tested on. These skills include tasks such as sterile garbing, filling prescriptions, and compounding oral medications. At both states and internationals, the competitors with the highest test scores then move on to the skills round. The points from both the skills and test are then combined to determine the winners. Since I decided on my event in October, I had months to prepare before  internationals in June. To prepare, I would borrow the textbooks I needed from the ACL Library and spent a few hours a week writing up a study guide based on the textbooks. I would also meet up with my Pharmacy teacher before school to practice my skills. 

Q: What was your experience competing at the different levels of HOSA? 

A: I competed in this event three times in one school year so advancing through each level was a unique experience! Regionals was only an online test, so reading through the textbook prepared me enough. States was probably the most difficult time for me to compete because I was also competing in a group event at the same time. Internationals was stressful in the sense that it was so much further than I initially expected I would go and knowing I was competing against the best from around the world definitely made me feel a lot of pressure. In the end, I had to place within the top 30 test scorers, then place in the top ten with my combined score from skills and test, and then be in the top three to receive an international award. Placing first internationally was incredibly rewarding because I could finally feel that those months of studying truly paid off. 

Q: Other than competing and winning, what has been your favorite part of being in HOSA? 

A: My favorite part of HOSA would definitely be the community it is made up of. I met so many driven and passionate individuals my age at both states and internationals, so it was motivating to see others that had a similar passion as mine. Despite it being a competition, everyone was there for a similar reason, their love of medicine, so being able to meet with other competitors and attend different conferences focused around medicine made me excited to continue being part of the organization.

Interviewed by Edward Christopher