Students return from HOSA Spring Leadership Conference with medals and awards

Future health professionals from the Valhalla campus prove they have what it takes

Students in the Animal Science, Emergency Medical Services, and Security, Law, and Policing classes at Southern Westchester BOCES’ Career Services campus in Valhalla attended the HOSA Spring Leadership Conference in Syracuse in late March. They returned back home with several medals and awards for demonstrating the skills they are learning.

HOSA is a global, student-led organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services and several federal and state agencies. Its mission is to empower future health professionals to become leaders in the global health community, through education, collaboration, and experience. 

During the conference, students competed against peers in similar programs from throughout New York. 

For the Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation First Aid team event, SWBOCES students brought home gold medals by juniors Paola Gonzalez of New Rochelle and Jocelyn Lopez of Port Chester and bronze medals by juniors Isaiah Nieves of Eastchester and Nathaniel Stone of Ardsley High School.

“It was a realistic scenario that I didn’t expect but I stayed calm and was able to do what I needed to do. My partner and I trained hard and it paid off,” said Security, Law and Policing student Nathaniel. “It was a lot of fun and I look forward to heading to the International Leadership Conference in June.”

In Veterinary Science, Jaidyn Clark, a junior from White Plains, took home the gold medal. “I studied everything and I felt relieved when they tested me on the one subject I felt most confident about, which was dog breeds,” said Jaidyn. “I knew that if I studied hard enough I could pull it off. The best experience out of the whole event was receiving the gold medal, I didn’t think I’d get it.”

For the Emergency Medical Technicians team event, silver medals were won by seniors Connor Kwon of Ardsley and Kaliyani Hartung of Eastchester. 

Juniors Eric Garcia and Gabrielle Marcellin from New Rochelle and JJ Hetzer and Jahani Valverde from Pelham each earned the prestigious New York Achievement Award. 

“I am very proud of what our students were able to accomplish. When our students win, it shows them that their hard work pays off. It’s a huge confidence builder,” said Robert Del Greco, Emergency Medical Services teacher. “Many of them have state certification exams on the horizon, and this success helps make those exams seem less daunting.”

New York HOSA State Officers were also elected at the event, JJ Hetzer was elected as the Parliamentarian and Gabrielle Marcelin as the Reporter.