The Killeen ISD Career Center hosted a Health Occupations Students of America area competition Friday and Saturday that drew 1,500 students from 191 high schools.
The second-round competition included an area that stretches from Killeen through Waco to Dallas-Fort Worth and the Oklahoma border and west to Abilene and San Angelo.
Students gathered for meetings and networking and tested their skills in categories across a wide range of medical knowledge.
The categories included biomedical debate, clinical specialty, CPR, life support skills, creative problem solving, EMT, phlebotomy, public health, clinical nursing, dental science, writing, forensic science, patient care, pharmacy science and public service announcement to name a few.
Career Center health science teachers Christina Chelby and Jeff Watson served as campus hosts for the huge event.
“It gets students excited about the medical field and it gives them a taste of the hard work that goes into it,” said Chelby. “They prep for skills and learn about different events; explore different areas and discover what field they want to go into.”
Top scorers in the initial round of competition qualified to attend the area round of competition to potentially move on to the state level and a chance to move on to national and international.
“This is a great opportunity for students to explore if this is what they want to do and it gives them a chance to learn to network,” said Watson.
HOSA is in its 50th year of competition and students have a chance to continue at the college level.
“It’s a huge opportunity for our students.”
Nakeira Blaylock, a senior at the KISD Career Center and HOSA chapter president said it was a thrill to serve as an area host.
“It’s very exciting to host,” she said. “Last year we went to Dallas. This is a whole new experience. It’s stressful and it’s also rewarding to be able to host,” she said.
“I love HOSA competition. I like the high stakes environment and meeting new people. It’s a great social environment.”
Learning to talk to others in her field of interest has given her a broader knowledge of the career she plans to follow.
Olivia Newlin, a senior and HOSA chapter secretary, was excited to experience her first taste of competition.
“This is my first year. I came in extremely shy, so this is out of my comfort zone. I’m excited for my first year of competition and I’m ready to move on to state.”
Area HOSA competition photo gallery: https://www.flickr.com/photos/killeenisd/albums/72177720331517313