Personal Statement In HOSA: Future Health Professionals

This school year, I want to get more involved with clubs and athletics that interest me. I am in HOSA and Student Government; which I would like to run for a office in Student Government at the end of the school year. I was also apart of the football and basketball teams and I am also going to try to be on the track team. Furthermore, as the year progresses, I want to receive all A's in my classes (have succeeded so far). In English this year I am going to further my reading and writing skills. To do so, I will need to practice these skills continuously which I feel that I can accomplish.

Throughout my time as a CNA, I also became the Health Occupations Students of America President. I organized two succesful blood drives with the American Red Cross, participated in regional competitions, and organized various fundraisers to donate to St. Jude's Children's Hospital.

Before I chose the Healthcare Administration and Planning(HCAP) degree program I had committed myself to a major, at another university, that did not fuel my passion and or encouraged me to continue. I knew I needed to make a change. I decided to stop and refocus and find out what my purpose was. With experience in community and customer service I knew that I wanted to serve people and find a way that I could help others to live their best lives. I began by researching careers in which I could serve others and make a difference. That is how I found healthcare.

I joined HOSA freshmen year, looking for opportunities to explore new things and develop new friendships. I was hoping to expand my knowledge about health care careers in a fun and interactive setting, HOSA provided me with just that. HOSA gave me with the platform, which I was looking for to improve my knowledge about the health science field. I was able to compete at the state level in Greensboro, and at the national level in Nashville. For me, attending these competitions provided me with an experience that greatly increased my interest and knowledge of the medical field. Becoming a HOSA district officer would enable me to further enrich my experiences by becoming a better leader and communicator, by sharing my experiences with younger students who are interested in joining the health care field, and grants me to have a bigger impact in HOSA and in my community. Becoming a HOSA district officer will allow me to improve myself as well as bettering the lives of others.

Everyone has a dream or something they want to follow in life. Some want material gain while others want to help as many people as they can. I’m not saying wanting material gain is a bad thing, but what I am saying is that for me, money is not the number one concern when my dream is to help others. My hunger to help others only grows by the day. Because of what’s going on in the world we live in today, I believe that it is important that those who are less fortunate than others have the assistance they need to get to an even playing field, health-wise, with others.

For almost half a decade HOSA has provided students the gateway for to develop leadership and technical skills in healthcare. For many, HOSA has allowed them to achieve their full potential and interact with people who share their same interests. HOSA has given me many opportunities, from national competition where I was able to study current health issues and interact with HOSA members from around the world to the fall leadership conference where I have been able to improve my leadership and communication skills. HOSA has given me countless opportunities, and now I want to give back. Becoming a HOSA state officer will allow me to give back to my fellow members by helping them to achieve their own personal interests in HOSA. I want to apply my experience as a leader and involvement in my community during my time as a HOSA state officer to help members fulfill their personal goals and the mission

After my first year at UND, I took a CNA class and became employed at a nursing home in Menahga, where I am still working. At this job I was able to experience patient care and begin to see the benefits of helping patients improve their lives. In my time after High School I have also had many other valuable experiences. I have been a Camp Counselor at two, 1 ½ week Confirmation Camps for our church. At these camps it was mine, along with other Counselor’s responsibility to teach the younger teens about how we believe as well as demonstrate how to be respectable adults. These camps allowed me to use and develop my leadership skills and also created memories that I will never forget. I have also shadowed a few different Medical Professionals, in order to better understand the world of medicine. Dr. Dan Smith is a General Surgeon who lives and practices very near to where I live. I was able to shadow Dr. Smith for many hours and built a relationship with him. He showed me some aspects of the medical field that I may not have seen elsewhere. My life has been far from typical, but I do believe that each of my experiences has made me both a better person as well as a be

For as long as I can remember I’ve wanted to be a forensic scientist and going to the University of Nevada, Reno has also been a goal of mine ever since I started thinking about college. In fact, it is the only school I applied to. Coming from a small school we don’t really have a lot of learning opportunities in this field. But because our teachers and staff have a very positive attitude they try and give us the most support and opportunities they can. I’ve taken at least one science class each year to help prepare me for college, specifically biology and chemistry. Besides our basic science courses the one thing we do have is HOSA. HOSA is a state and national level organization for student interested in the medical field and related sciences. I’ve been a member of HOSA for two

One of the most important and favorite healthcare related experience for me is volunteering at the Houston Foodbank. I have done over 440 hours of volunteering at the Houston Foodbank. Saving peoples lives by filling their pantries and those who are in need for food has been a blessing for me to do. However, I am currently still volunteering and now a leader for the Student Heroes Program for the Houston Foodbank. Many have told me I could not be a leader too soon unless you are really dedicated to the program or you have to be a senior. Clearly then I have proved them wrong by being dedicated to the program. Helping people has been an honor to me and I really enjoy helping families in need for food. It makes me feel great to make people faces

I want to improve the health and smiles of people all around the world. I want to create this change by getting involved in programs such as Doctors without Borders so that I can provide dental care to people from all different continents. Not only do I want to change smiles for people around the world, but I also want to help the people in my community who don’t have access to care. Having the opportunity to work with homeless shelters and other outreach organizations I have witnessed how rampant the neglect to this population is. Lastly, I want to be a mentor to other teens and young adults (especially in the African American community) by establishing a program that will encourage them to seek careers in the health field. I was fortunate enough to have people around me encouraging me to look towards the health field and I believe it is my responsibility to pass that encouragement on to

I was given an opportunity to interview a cardiovascular surgeon from Texas Heart Institute for my project; I remember his office looking just like how I would picture an inventor’s room to be, with pictures and articles hung up on the walls, and his desk scattered with materials and prototypes. I realized how much more someone can achieve when practicing medicine. A simple idea can be the beginning of a life-saving device. This year, I was elected historian for HOSA; being an officer allows me to lead and influence others in the right direction by breaking them out of their comfort zone and trying new things, like meeting new people and volunteering in events. One of my favorite events is the Light the Night walk for people diagnosed with leukemia and lymphoma. I’ve participated for the past 3 years, and each time the energy that surrounds us continues to expand as we walk together as a community, holding lighted balloons and honoring those patients.

I graduated from a high school of about 150 kids where about 80% where minorities and about 75% were qualified for free or reduced lunch. Coming in as a business major I want the chance to go back and try and fix how the school was ran. While my school tried it’s best to provide what was necessary to advance to a higher education beyond high school, they fell short. My junior and senior year I was lucky enough to have nearly all online classes, so I had a ton of free time. However, during this time I spent most of it helping seniors and juniors applying for college, editing their resumes, revising their essays, and just making them aware of all the programs and scholarships out there for them. I remember it was in these moments I felt like I really made an impact. I feel as if these are the same morals and beliefs that are held within Teach for American and I want to be part of that. While you review my application, I hope I exemplified all that you all are looking for, and If I didn’t I hope that I can later in the future.

HOSA has exposed me to healthcare activities early on in my life. Through HOSA I have become involved in many healthcare-related volunteer activities. Every holiday I decorate the pediatric unit which has become very special to me after doing it for two years and having the nurses tell us it makes a difference in the atmosphere of the hospital. I also have taken part in coordinating the blood drive, which is one of the most difficult events to coordinate. It takes a lot of effort to keep permission forms and sign-up sheets organized. It is also very difficult to make volunteer and donor schedules that please everyone. During the blood drive I had to be assertive to make sure volunteers were doing their jobs to make sure donors were safe. This

My mom was rush in the hospital because she collapsed on her first day of her job, when I was eight years old. Her doctor did not know how to help her but prescribed her some medication that she would take everyday. She was never her healthy self anymore because every now and then her pain would come back. There would be days, that she could not wake up from her bed. I was worry for her because if anything were to happen to her, I do not know what my sibling and I are doing to do. We only have her left. At that moment in time, I knew I want to be in the healthcare field because I want to be able to help her, if anything were to happen to her.

Over time, there have been many working experiences that have had a huge impact on me. I have learned what I would love to do in regards to my life and career and what I know I don’t want to pursue, which is equally as important. I’ve had the opportunity to volunteer at local hospitals, and assist with lower income communities. All of these occasions ultimately became a trend in my life where helping people in a medical setting gave me such a fulfillment.