Oklahoma Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) recently held its annual state-wide leadership conference in Norman, Oklahoma. Students from Pontotoc Technology Center competed in a wide variety of categories and placed in 13 of them.
“The contest allows our students to engage with other students across the state, compete for placement and prizes, and builds confidence and character as they do the work necessary to be competitive in events like this,” said Beckie Balch, PTC LPN Program Coordinator.
First place winners In Practical Nursing were, Kelly Cooke in Behavioral Health and Madelyn Elliott in Medical Reading. Taking second place were Darcy Bowerman in Job Seeking Skills, Ariel Snodgrass in Medical Terminology, Jose Rivera in Nutrition and our team of three, Kelci Hayes, Jessica Helms, and Tara Osborne in Mental Health Promotion. In third place, Cassie Phay in Pathophysiology. In fourth place, Shelby Womack in Healthcare Photography, Samantha Shirley in Clinical Nursing, Kristen Linebarger in Human Growth and Development, and Tagen Miller in Pharmacology. Sarah Smith took fifth place in Clinical Nursing.
Taking third place in the high school division was Helen Vasquez in Biotechnology.
One of the new events at this year’s contest was Mental Health Promotion. According to HOSA’s website, The event was designed to provide HOSA members with an introduction to Mental Health topics with a grounding in prevention. The event is built on the understanding that “mental health IS health” and that we must think about taking care of our mental health just as we do our physical health.
“Our students participated in this event and received high marks for the mental health promotion category. The PN chapter received special recognition for their contributions toward the “Be the Match,” HOSA National Service Project,” said Julie Williams, PTC Practical Nursing Instructor. “The class would also like to thank Mrs. Johns for being their mental health consultant throughout the process.”
Congratulations to all of our amazing students and thank you for representing PTC so well!