Sophomore and Medical Terminology Student Joshua Zapien traveled to Indianapolis for the Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA) State Leadership Conference April 10-12. The HOSA conference took place at the Indianapolis Marriott East Hotel, and is an annual competition which draws in thousands of students to compete in numerous categories for scholarship money. 

Zapien represented Lost River Cooperative and Paoli. He competed in three categories: Medical Terminology, Nurse Assistant and Job Seeking Skills. He had been preparing for about a month and took written tests online and performed his skills portion at the event.

“HOSA is a great way for me to get hands-on experience in things I’m interested in. I wanted to compete in Job Seeking because I will soon be getting a job and this will help me prepare for interviews.  The Nurse Assistant Category gave me a head start to the CNA Specialist Class. My favorite part of the competition was meeting new people. I plan on going next year, as well, ” said Zapien.

This experience geared Zapien for his future career goals of being a radiologist. Zapien encourages anyone interested in health care professions to compete in next year’s competition.