During spring break, two LFA students, Sienna Yang ’27 and Jessica Xu ’27, spent three days at the Illinois Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) State Leadership Conference in Springfield. Yang placed in the top three in the state in her event. She will proceed to the international conference in June. 

Of the 13 LFA students who participated in the competition, Yang and Xu advanced from the preliminary round, qualifying for the state competition. Yang qualified for Medical Math, and Xu for both Medical Math and Biotechnology.

HOSA – Future Health Professionals is an international student organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Education. It hosts a variety of healthcare-related competitions. “I think it’s good for their application of the skills. If they are interested in a health occupation, it gives them a nice introduction to what they think they might be doing,” said LFA advisor for HOSA Stephanie Ramirez Krych. Whether through hands-on case studies or rigorous written tests, the HOSA conference is an incredible way to learn about nearly every health occupation, from biotechnology to physical therapy.

Medical Math is a test competition: examples of the types of questions include determining a person’s body surface area or calculating the volume of a drug for a patient. There are also more practical competitions, such as a real-life simulation relating to the healthcare field.

The Biotechnology competition, for instance, had a lab component. Xu had to give a demonstration in which competitors performed a practical experiment and presented it to the judges. “It turned out fine, but the lab part was pretty hard,” Xu explained. “The lab is all about demonstrating knowledge of techniques and performing skills,” she elaborated. The judges’ main focus was on whether the participants knew how to use the pipettes, transfer liquid and extract DNA.

Seeing Xu and Yang shine at major HOSA conferences raised the question: what first sparked their interest in medicine?

Xu shared that as a child, she had a skin disease that caused her to have rashes all over her body. This was because she was living in a very humid environment in China. “I really want to fix these problems,” she thought as a 10-year-old. So, she became interested in biology and medicine.  

For Yang, it all started in elementary school when her dad brought home a plethora of books for her to read. The one that fascinated her the most was the book about what to do if your child gets sick. That book was the one that led her to the conference.

Today, given its members’ recent achievements, it is clear that LFA’s HOSA chapter is a thriving organization. However, it was not always this way. Yang wanted to join a club based on her interests when she first came to LFA. She looked for medicine-related clubs and organizations to join. “HOSA seemed like the most famous one,” said Yang. Although the club was listed on the LFA website, it no longer existed.

Not long after, the club was revived. Since the 2024-2025 school year, the club has grown from six members to 17, all of whom participated in the preliminary test. “Sienna reinvigorated our chapter,” Ramirez Krych described. And Xu, the vice president, also helped out other students. 

To prepare for the HOSA state selection, the girls had to begin early in winter. LFA’s delegation stated that they did not feel sufficiently prepared due to a lack of resources from HOSA. For example, Yang had to dig for resources online. “It’s actually kind of hard to find resources for HOSA,” she said. There were not many high-quality practice problems online, so she stuck to flashcards to memorize unit conversions. 

Similarly, to prepare, Xu searched past exams on Google and practiced flashcards on Quizlet. For the lab portion, she asked Ramirez Krych for help on techniques. Xu felt more confident knowing that some biotechnology concepts are in the AP Biology curriculum and that some of the advanced calculations for her other event were covered in her math classes.

However, the club is far from fully developed. Yang noted that at the conference, they had to share a table with another school because their delegation was too small. When asked for a funny story about her experience, she said the opposite. “Some people are cheered for really loudly, and for others, it’s just small claps,” referring to the size of the delegations.

Even with limited materials and uncertainty about what would appear on the test, Yang shared that, upon arriving in the States, she was calm. She knew she was naturally good at the type of math she would be dealing with, so she went in with a carefree attitude. As a result of her cumulative studies, she placed in the top three in the state, thus qualifying for the 2026 HOSA International Leadership Conference.

As Yang mentioned, “I’m the only person going from here, so it’s a little intimidating.” The Conference will be a four-day event held from June 17–20 in Indianapolis, Indiana, containing around 15,000 future health professionals from all 50 states and eight countries. Ramirez Krych said, “It’ll be highly, highly competitive,” as the participants will be the best of the best.

To get an award, Yang would have to place in the top 10, which is a larger competition than the state one. She doesn’t know what kind of test she’ll face, but regardless of the result, she is already involved in a proud moment for LFA. 

“We’re actually competing against really big schools,” Ramirez noted, adding how proud she is of the two students representing the school on such a massive scale. She described each event as competitive, with many students from across the state attending.

There is a wide variety of clubs at LFA; however, career-oriented clubs are lacking. By bringing HOSA back, Yang ensured that LFA students have an opportunity to learn about the prospects of a medical career and the chance to learn what they care about.