Victoria Tirado is the Co-Editor-In-Chief of the Bear Truth News and was recently named the Voice of Democracy District 19 winner in the Veterans of Foreign Wars Essay Competition. At the ceremony, Victoria had the opportunity to meet Congressman Cory Mills.
At Winter Springs High School, HOSA members triumphantly placed in several categories at the Space Coast Regional Competition on Saturday, January 20.
Notably, out of approximately 800 competitors, Nya Brotherson won first place in Research Persuasive Writing and Speaking. The judges were moved by her speech. Poojita Kanumuri and Diya Patel earned Second Place with their Health Career Display. Saisamanvi Nadimpalli and Swathi Subramanian also won second place in Medical Innovation. Rohita Kanumuri won third place in Job Seeking Skills. Additionally, Anna Webb, Kayla Monsalve, Audrey Hale, Vrina Chitadi, and Paulina Rodriguez placed fifth for Creative Problem Solving. Caitlin Brosch (Round One Winner), Shruti Likhite, (Round One Winner), Yashna Singh, Bianca Andrea Perez, Julia Shearer, and Sheryl Daniel gave an impressive showing in the categories of Veterinary Science, Biotechnical Science, Health Career Display, Job Seeking Skills, and Behavior Health.
These accomplishments were heightened considering it was the first time HOSA members had competed in Regionals. Senior Diya Patel proclaimed, “As we were attempting for the first time at a HOSA competition, I was nervous to see the complexity of the events. When I first walked in, I was intimidated by the competitor’s attendance size.” However, this feeling rapidly dissipated for Patel- Patel elucidated, “However, when Poojita and I took our place to give our presentation, confidence spread within me and I was able to make an aspiring impression on the judges. The words I said were impactful enough for the judges to remember my face when I picked up my board after the events.”
Not only did these young women win various categories, but they also made Dr. Vickers, their sponsor, very proud. Before the HOSA club at Winter Springs High School began, Saisamanavi Nadimpalli, junior, envisioned a team of young women in the medical field. She approached Dr. Vickers and Vickers’ response was the following: “When Saisamanvi asked me to sponsor this club, I knew I had to say yes. These students are hardworking, focused, caring, and compassionate people and I want to do what I can to help them on their journey to becoming professionals in the medical field.” After winning the competition, Dr. Vickers said, “I am so proud of these students for doing so well at Regionals. They dedicated a lot of time to preparing for these events. I know they are going to make us proud at the State Competition.”
The WSHS HOSA club has been active this year in several events including their Toy Drive in December where they collected toys to donate to children being treated at Arnold Palmer Hospital. Florida HOSA has more than 14,600 members, including those from Winter Springs High School. The Hosa organization encourages students to become medical professionals and collaborate with other students through education.
The WSHS Beta Club competed at the State Beta Convention in Orlando this past weekend. We had several winners at the State Convention: Danielle Young won third place in the speech. Yashna Singh won third place in biomedical. Rachel Shuai won second place in math. Ethan Bai won third place in agriscience, and the Quiz Bowl Team placed in the top eight in the state which included: Joe Curran, Calvin Bates, Chris Baker, and Max Lang. The state winners qualify to move on to the National Beta Convention this summer. Additional students who competed: Dayanna Panchana, Sumeira Singh, Chris Baker, Caitlin Brosch, Ava Grace, Madison Livingston, Yashna Singh, Abhinav Malhotra, and Alani Pagan-Brainin. Congratulations to all of our hard-working Beta Club students and thank you to the club sponsor, Mrs. Brosch!
