Photo Credit: HOSA

By Aric Sahibdeen

Staff Writer

The Health Occupation Students of America club (HOSA) is a new organization at Hammond this year, founded by Mr. Garner. The club is focused on helping students who aspire to start a career in the healthcare field achieve their dreams by helping them make meaningful connections with other students who share the same passion. The club meets at room A234 on Monday October 28th, where they’ll collect dues.

HOSA gives students the opportunity to connect with thousands of peers who share the same aspirations across the country, and even outside of the country in places such as China and Canada. When asked about the HOSA club’s goals this school year, Mr. Garner said “Our first step is to get the club up off the ground and running”, he continued saying “they have some ideas, they have ideas to do different fundraisers, activities, for example a blood drive.”

Mr. Garner then went on to say that “The goals for our HOSA club are to promote healthcare professional opportunities to students who are interested in those careers, and our goal also to inform the community about healthcare issues, and also advocate within this school as well for the overall profession of healthcare”. Organizations like this are important to have in a community because they give opportunities to people who would otherwise not have a way to get a start in the healthcare field.

The idea of starting a Hammond High School chapter of HOSA was suggested by sophomores Tervor Miyagishima and Omar Asfari, who asked Mr. Garner to sponsor the club last year, when they were freshmen. “Two very responsible students came to me at the end of last year, they said they thought we had a need for a HOSA club here at Hammond. They had all the plans laid out, they had a script to read to me that showed me the breakdown of the club.” said Mr. Garner, speaking about Trevor and Omar. 

The first HOSA interest meeting had 33 students attend, and they’re having their 3rd meeting on Monday October 28th. This is where they’ll collect dues and get an official number on how many students will join the Hammond High School HOSA club in its inaugural year.

HOSA also helps college applications, as it is a respected organization that colleges will take into consideration when choosing to accept or deny you. HOSA was founded in 1976, and has since then gained over 200,000 members all across the United States and Canada. The fee for a HOSA membership is $20, and it gives you access to many perks, such as National conferences where you can meet with and learn from people in the health industry from all over the country, Scholarships, Internship opportunities, and competitions. HOSA has awarded over $360,000 dollars in scholarships and has awarded 32 internships in the office of the Surgeon General since 2010. The Surgeon General is the head of the PHSCC and spokesperson to all public health matters in the United States.