Temple HS Health Science Students Shine at Area Conference

TEMPLE, Texas — The Temple High School chapter of HOSA – Future Health Professionals recently competed in the organization’s Area 5 Spring Leadership Conference in Mansfield. The chapter had one student qualify to advance to the state competition and two other students will be alternates for the state conference.

Temple High School’s Shamyia Miller earned the right to advance to the HOSA State Competition after finishing in third place in Personal Care. Miller, a junior, had to simulate admitting a patient in a hands-on environment. She was judged based on a long checklist of items she had to remember to cover during the event. This is the third time Miller has competed in Personal Care at the area level and she has improved her placement in each of those competitions, culminating in this year’s state qualification. The state competition will be held April 29-May 1 in Round Rock.

“I was very excited to qualify because I was so nervous going into the competition,” Miller said of the experience. “I want to be NICU nurse, and this will help me through my nursing programs and CNA and then my classes I want to go through when I go to college. I am looking forward to going to state and being hands-on and really having the chance to help people.”  

Two other students earned State Alternate status after finishing in fourth place in their respective competitions. Myrapaz San Juan finished fourth in Clinical Specialty and Temina Binoy finished fourth out of 53 speakers in Prepared Speaking. San Juan, a sophomore, had to submit a portfolio on a specific clinical job and then give a speech regarding that job. She worked with and observed a microbiologist to prepare for the competition. Binoy, a junior, had to write and present a five-minute speech relating to HOSA’s theme of “Powered by People.”

“I am proud of myself and feel like I really achieved something,” San Juan said. “My competition allowed me to be in close contact with people in a health occupation and see what things are really like in that job. This gives me experience and I want to be a medical scientist, so it was a cool experience to be in an actual lab learning about the career.”

“I am proud of the way I finished especially when I found out there would be 53 people competing,” Binoy added. “My ultimate goal is to become a doctor, but even if that changes over time, I think this really helped me with my public speaking. That is something you need your entire life, no matter what your job might be.”

HOSA is a program designed to develop future leaders for the health care system by providing opportunities for students to develop leadership qualities and skills, develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills, develop character and responsible citizenship traits, set goals and make realistic career choices, and network with health care professionals and peers who have similar goals. Participating in the competitive events portion of the leadership conference will also give those students a chance to prepare for opportunities that will come after they graduate from high school.

“I am very, very proud of the way our students competed, and we were so excited to see our students succeed and improve through the competition,” said Elizabeth Maybin, CTE teacher and HOSA advisor at Temple High School. “Some of the things they learned for their competitions you don’t teach in high school. These are things they wouldn’t normally learn until they are actually in the profession. That is such a big deal because it helps them learn what they like or don’t like about the profession. It also pushes them out of their comfort zone because they have to speak or perform in a way they might not have done before. The more they do that, the more successful they will be in the real world.”

Approximately 40 Temple High School students competed in events leading up to and including the Spring Leadership Conference. HOSA offers competition in 56 different events to help prepare students for future careers in the medical field.