While neither as large nor as well-known as clubs such as Key Club, the Healthcare Occupation Students of America club brings awareness to students about future career options in the medical field, as well as seeks to better the community as a whole.

HOSA recently hosted a charity walk through Oak Canyon Park in which they charged $7 for admission; all proceeds went to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

The HOSA walk took place Dec. 4 and raised over $600. Junior and club co-President Sujith Pendekanti said the event was a success.

“We look forward to arranging more events to bring awareness for this inspiring national organization,” Pendekanti wrote to the Talon.

In addition to conducting fundraisers for various charitable research organizations, HOSA’s primary goal is to promote career opportunities in the healthcare industry by raising awareness in the younger generations.

“[There is a] plethora of students that are interested in one day entering into medicine, so this club definitely introduces its members to the wide possibilities the healthcare field offers,” Pendekanti wrote.

HOSA has produced many students who move into the medical field, though it has only operated at Oak Park High School for three years.

“Two senior girls who graduated [the Oak Park chapter] are pursuing medical careers. One student was admitted to Brown University and the other is attending UCLA,” HOSA advisor and biology teacher Sharon Stutz said.

HOSA will be collaborating with the Simi Valley Hospital in order to give a thorough foundation in basic medicine, as well as teach its members about potential career paths in medicine.

“[We will be] setting up Doctor Lectures, where medical students, hospital administration and doctors themselves come in to give a presentation about their life and the necessary tasks they completed to enter into the desired profession,” Pendekanti wrote.

HOSA is the No. 1 student-led, medical-oriented organization in the nation and it is in large part due to the effort and dedication that the members and the club leadership put in, as well as the values that the club teaches.

“HOSA promotes physical, mental and social well-being,” Stutz wrote in an email. “It teaches effective leadership qualities and skills and helps develop the ability to communicate more effectively with people. HOSA also develops individual character, as well as responsible citizenship traits.”

HOSA is a nationwide organization spread throughout all 50 states.

“I feel like HOSA has already provided me with so much insight,” sophomore club member Anish Natarajan said, “and I’m really looking forward to the future.”