School buses from various school districts filled the parking lot of McNeil High School on the morning of Saturday, Oct. 26. Hosted by Texas Area 1 officers, Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) had their annual Fall Leadership Conference (FLC) to start off the competition season.

“We really hope that our members can get a preview of what these competitions will look like through the sessions,” Texas Area 1 Historian Olivia Jung said. “The officer team spent a lot of time preparing and working on this for the past [few] months, so hopefully the members get a lot of help from it.”

With over eight sessions, members could explore a variety of events of their choice: Becoming an Officer, Team Building, Tourniquets/Stop the Bleed, SPOTS Presentation, Resilience Training, Suturing, Phlebotomy, Mental Health, and HOSA BOWL. These sessions included the contributions of medical professionals from all over Texas, who shared insightful information to students aspiring to become healthcare professionals. 

“FLC was really informative and fun,” HOSA member Sarah Fattu ‘27 said. “I met people from different HOSA chapters and got to learn more about healthcare.”

In the main hallways, a medical school panel, which included universities and their respective health care programs, was held. In order to fundraise to support the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP), the Texas Area 1 officer team set up a Spin and Win station, where members could spin a wheel for two dollars and win fun prizes. The officers were able to raise $610, which went directly to the NMDP to help them continue administering life-saving bone marrow transplants.

Concluding the event, the closing ceremony recognized the hard work and dedication advisors and sponsors poured into the event in order to make it happen. Participants submitted their HOSA spirit photos that were later displayed in the ceremony, with the most impressive school receiving the spirit stick. 

“I think this year’s FLC was a big success, [and] I am looking forward to our Spring Leadership Conference in February,” Jung said.