Taking health science and putting it into practice, HOSA members attended the annual Texas HOSA State Leadership Conference in Round Rock from Monday to Thursday.

“We had a really fun time from sessions to competitions to activities to going to different restaurants to the water park that was at [Kalahari] resort,” junior Abdurraheem Sheikh said. “It was generally a very fun, insightful learning opportunity and a good time with friends.”

Students at the competition competed in various competitions, from public health to medical reading. A team on campus, including sophomore Tarak Oak, placed second in the public health competition.

“Our event was focused on public health and this year’s theme was promoting heart health,” Oak said. “Despite having serious doubts after our second performance, coming in second place was a huge accomplishment for all of us and we were overjoyed.”

For Oak, the competition was not only a learning experience but also a chance to have some fun.

“For my group, we hit our first real road bump and didn’t know how to handle it,” he said. “But instead of dwelling on the subject all day, we decided to spend our last days having fun and enjoying the amenities of the resort with the group, which was a great decision for a lot of us, relieving stress and making the trip so much better after receiving results.”

Students who placed highly will now advance to June’s International Leadership Conference.

“Placing was an exhilarating experience,” sophomore Rishub Rathod said. “Holistically, we felt pretty good about our creativity and presentation. All of our hard work had not only paid off but now we are able to continue on our competition at the ILC.”

Members of the campus chapter placed at the competition, but were also there to meet with other area and regional leadership.

“I have a position on the area officer team as secretary,” Sheikh said. “At the state conference, I learned the power of teamwork and how a good team can do so many things. This is not only in the sense of my debate team but also in the sense with our area team. A well formed team with good roles and leadership can do so much more and have a great impact .”

Junior Sophie Yang also has a role on the area team as reporter, and was able to work with the fellow students on campus to prepare for the state conference.

“I am so proud of Liberty’s performance at the Texas HOSA State Leadership Conference this past week,” junior Sophie Yang said. “Overall, it was such a great experience and I had lots of fun connecting with other area officers and HOSA members from all around Texas.”