The Health Occupations Students of America club broke the school record for individual awards at the State Leadership Conference in Sacramento Saturday, March 18. 

HOSA is an international student organization endorsed by the U.S. Department of Education and the Health Science Technology Education Division of the Association for Career & Technical Education. According to the HOSA website, HOSA’s mission is to “promote career opportunities in the health care industry and to enhance the delivery of quality health care to all people.”

Three Oak Park students placed in the top five of their respective categories. This is the first time Oak Park’s students have placed in the top five at the State Leadership Conference.

Sujith Pendekanti, junior and co-president, placed fourth in the Medical Photography category; junior Sumedha Attanti placed fifth in Extemporaneous Writing and junior Medha Vallurupalli placed fifth in Prepared Speaking.

Amogha Koka, junior and co-president, also competed in the Extemporaneous Writing category. Koka and junior Divya Narayanan received a service award for community service.

Pendekanti, who joined HOSA because he wants to pursue a career in the medical field, said that this was the first time he competed in the Medical Photography category.

“This year, as co-president, I knew that I would not have much time to study for a knowledge test, so I decided to go with a topic that has looked appealing to me since freshman year,” Pendekanti said. “I really enjoy taking photos, so I thought that this would be the perfect fit for my competitive event this year.”

Attanti, who started going to the State Leadership Conference in her sophomore year, said that this year the members of HOSA understood they were competing on a bigger scale.

“We had a stronger drive to win, and we all wanted to work harder to make our families and school proud,” Attanti said.

Koka said this was her first year competing in Extemporaneous Writing.

“I did it because I wanted to express my opinions about the health care system in America, and this seemed like a great way,” Koka said. 

Other schools in the region incorporate HOSA events in their curriculum, while Oak Park keeps it as a club. Pendekanti said that Oak Park was at a disadvantage because of this.

“This year, we emphasized trying to study in advance. With the right motivation and execution, we were really able to be recognized as a school state-wide for HOSA,” Pendekanti said.

In previous years, the highest that an Oak Park student has placed at the state competition was ninth.

“I’m really proud of Oak Park HOSA this year. We got further than we ever have before and it makes me really happy to see how far we’ve come,” Pendekanti said.

HOSA club advisor Sharon Stutz said that it was the students’ responsibility to prepare and study for the competition; she didn’t help them in any way.

“There are published websites with practice questions available, and I know some students even made quizlets to help them get ready for their competition,” Stutz wrote in an email.

Koka said she was proud of everyone for their hard work and dedication, and couldn’t have done it without Pendekanti and Stutz.

“I’m very thankful to Sujith and Mrs. Stutz for always being there with me through this journey,” Koka said.

Attanti said that the club has been very supportive of each other, and feels like a family.

“I’ve found that we’re just as close as any sports team: we laugh together and grow together, and we’ve all bonded so much over the last few years,” Attanti said. “We all help each other out, and genuinely push each other to succeed.”