Courtesy of Jiatong Gao ’26

Focused, HOSA member Alan Morillo ’26 writes letters for depression patients. Each member wrote two thoughtful letters, decorated fully with their artistic freedom.

Thoughtful discussions echoed in Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA)’s first general meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 10. New members joined former members to receive new club updates and competition information.

Officers introduced the club’s mission and competitions, as well as different events that members can participate in this semester. Along with club policies and rules, the competition coordinators guided the members through the various competition categories, giving a clear rundown of how to choose their specific event.

“This is my first year in HOSA, and today’s meeting was helpful in learning more about the competitions,” Juha Hwang ‘26 said. “I was really lost when I was trying to find information about which event I want to compete in this year, but the guidelines [the officers]  gave us helped me a lot.”  

Towards the end of the afternoon meeting, members gathered to write thoughtful letters for depression patients. Each member wrote two letters full of encouragement and hope, in an effort  to contribute to the patients’ cure and wellbeing. 

“We thought of different events that could help us to give back to our community in the form of healthcare, and one of our ideas was writing these letters,” Event Coordinator Emily Zhang ‘27 said. “We also have other fun service project ideas like toy drives and personal hygiene kits coming up later this year.”

Due to club budget cuts, HOSA added a requirement for new members to be enrolled in a CTE course in order to be able to compete. However, officers ensured that all members had an equal opportunity to join, not requiring returning members to be in CTE and accepting other special circumstances. 

“HOSA is so excited to meet all the new members, and [is] especially looking forward to the Fall Leadership Conference (FLC) upcoming in October,” Secretary Olivia Jung ‘25 said.