Ninety Marc Garneau students competed in the HOSA Spring Leadership Conference (SLC) on 27 and 28 March 2018. The event was held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre with over three thousand students participating from all across Canada. Students competed with hopes to qualify for the International Leadership Conference (ILC) to be held in Dallas, Texas during the last week of June.

More than twenty of MGCI HOSA participants won awards across twelve different categories. Photo: Ava Pun

HOSA Canada has been organizing the annual SLC since 2014 to give students the opportunity to learn more about and engage in activities related to health science. Students in both high school and university have the chance to compete in one of over forty competitive events. The events are grouped into five categories: health sciences, leadership, emergency preparedness, health professions, and teamwork. Competitors can choose to do an individual event such as dental science or a team event like biomedical debate or Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) skills. Each event includes a multiple choice exam and some involve a demonstration round where students present practical skills in front of judges. Qualification for the demonstration round depends on a competitor’s exam score as well as the number of participants in their event.

The MGCI HOSA chapter performed incredibly well this year with over twenty students winning awards across twelve different categories. The chapter has seen tremendous growth since its formation three years ago— it now has over seventy members, compared to the thirty just two years before. When asked why she joined HOSA and decided to compete in the SLC, Grade 11 competitor Hannah Lee said, “I find that it’s really rewarding just going there and being in that environment, surrounded by friends, knowing you’ve prepared and done your best to win. It’s also really nice to meet students from other schools who are interested in the same things you are.”

When asked about how MGCI performed this year, MGCI HOSA President Paul Oh said, “MGCI had the most number of medals in HOSA SLC this year, so I’m very proud of everyone.” He also touched on how many students first joined HOSA last year, which made them better prepared and more motivated to do well this year. Teacher advisor Ms. Gosselin also commented, “The club seems to be growing a lot and I’m happy that everyone acted very professional this year.”

The Reckoner congratulates the following students on their achievements at the 2018 HOSA Spring Leadership Conference:

Amy Chen: 1st Place, Biomedical Laboratory Science

Jessie Xu and Maggie Xu: 1st Place, CERT Skills

Fardin Islam, Rong Tao Luo: 2nd Place, CERT Skills

Hanlin Cheng, Sheri Kim: 3rd Place, CERT Skills

Caryn Qian: 1st Place, Dental Terminology

Molly Feng, Christina Zhang: 1st Place, EMT

Ryan Li, Grace Xiong: 2nd Place, EMT

Hannah Lee: 1st Place, Epidemiology

Renee Jiang, Angela Pang, Justin Ye: 2nd Place, HOSA Bowl

Eric Wang: 3rd Place, KT: Behavioural Health

Joey Davey-Young: 2nd Place, Knowledge Test – Human Growth and Development

Janani Satkunarajah: 1st Place, Knowledge Test – Medical Law and Ethics

Glenda Zhai: 2nd Place, Knowledge Test – Medical Law and Ethics

Saranya Varakunan: 2nd Place, Knowledge Test – Nutrition

Jennifer Huang: 3rd Place, Pharmacology

Amy Peng: 1st Place, Nursing Assisting

All of the above students have qualified to attend the 2018 International Leadership Conference in Dallas. If they choose to attend, they will compete against students from countries such as the US, China, and Italy from 27 to 30 June.