Students Interested in Healthcare Careers Test the Waters with HOSA

Around forty students gathered to eat lunch in a science classroom at Billings Central Catholic High School on September 2, some at tables, others leaning against the walls, and a handful sitting on the floor. It was a packed house for the first ever HOSA meeting at BCCHS.

HOSA Future Health Professionals is a global, student-led organization that seeks to promote career opportunities in healthcare. Krista Cunningham, who teaches biology as well as human anatomy and physiology at Central, decided to start a HOSA club at Central this year. As the faculty advisor, she says she was thrilled with the number of students interested in joining.

“Yeah, it was a wild success. I was surprised with how many students showed up. We needed six to make it an official club, and I was hoping we would get six. I think there was upwards of 35 that showed up, and that’s just on the introductory meeting,” Cunningham said.

Cunningham says that Central has many students who are interested in future careers in healthcare, and she wants to provide them with an opportunity to network and get engaged in the healthcare community within Billings. She hopes Central’s HOSA club will help them get a foot in the door with health care.

“I’m hoping students who maybe are unsure if they like healthcare could at least test the waters a little bit to see if they like it,” Cunningham explained.

The club is off to a busy start. With just two meetings on the books, its members have already set up a contest to design the club logo, set dues, and elected officers. Olivia Tourtlotte and Alyson Early are now co-presidents, Jack Milroy is the vice president, Audrie Jensen is the secretary, and Lily Bland is the treasurer. The official student leadership members will head to Butte on October 5 for a statewide HOSA fall leadership conference.

There’s much more that they plan to do in the coming weeks and months. The club has already set up a volunteer opportunity at the Out of the Darkness Yellowstone Valley Walk on Sunday, September 18. The event is focused on bringing awareness, resources, education, and support to the fight against suicide. Cunningham says that the club will offer a wide range of additional healthcare-related opportunities for students, from seminars to blood drives.

The flagship event for the club will be the Montana HOSA state leadership conference on April 5-6. The conference will include leadership and hands-on skills training, as well as various competitions. According to Cunningham, the plan is for that event to take place at the new Rocky Vista University Montana College of Osteopathic Medicine that is currently under construction off of Shiloh and Monad.

“The entire state will come here for that convention, and it’s everything from science Olympiad-style competitive events to symposiums. It will be a pretty exciting event for us,” Cunningham said.

Cunningham says she hopes HOSA will help spark interest in healthcare careers for students at Central and help them prepare for their futures.

“It’s a really great way for students to just get into our community,” Cunningham explained, “So this club, yes, is a professional club, but it’s also meant to be fun as well, so I’m hoping they can network with the healthcare community but have fun while doing it.”