On Friday, November 22, several De La Salle Collegiate students will be competing in the first round of HOSA competition for Region 4 at Dakota High School. 

HOSA is a global organization for future health professionals, with the guiding principles of service, leadership, and professionalism. Thousands of young people worldwide are members of HOSA chapters and strive to perfect the skills that will make them excellent health-care providers.

Mrs. Mary Balamucki, one of the DLS Science teachers, initiated HOSA during the 2023-2024 school year, but only one student chose to participate.

“This year is our first experience with a large group at the HOSA conference,” Balamucki said. “I am excited to have so many students willing to participate and try a competitive event. HOSA is a wonderful opportunity for students to meet other students who are interested in medicine, and to learn and grow as medical professionals. It’s rewarding to see our Pilots HOSA Medical Club growing.”

This school year, Balamucki has 12 students signed up to participate in a variety of categories, both team and individual, in the regional competition. She said the top seven in each category will compete in April 2025 at the statewide event in Traverse City.

Senior Glen Vasili described how his group is preparing for their “Health Education” event. 

Glen and juniors Michael Kosanke, Matthew Robinson, and Michael Voronenko have to put themselves into the role of educators and present an entire lesson, with activities and tests. 

Glen said, “At the actual event, we have five minutes to explain how we would present our lesson with our wide variety of materials.” 

He said the group’s materials include an introductory video and discussion, slides, a case study worksheet, and a unit test with feedback.

“We have been working every day at lunch in Mrs. Balamucki’s room, rehearsing our scripts and recording ourselves,” Glen added.

Senior Brendan Harper and junior Bill Gintner are participating in the “CPR and First Aid” category. In that event, they first take a written, 50-question test, and then move to the physical portion of the event and administer resuscitative procedures on practice dummies. 

“To prepare for the written portion, we have been studying quizlets and watching videos from the official Red Cross CPR and First Aid website,” Brendan said. “For the physical portion, we have been practicing on CPR dummies, and had a certified EMT give us guidance on form and mechanics.”

That certified EMT was DLS alumnus Jacob Tousignant, Class of 2019, a critical care technician with Medstar Ambulance.

Junior Zach Sufczynski, who is interested in a possible career in sports medicine, is competing in the Individual Sports Medicine category. He has also been preparing for the written test and getting some advice from DLS trainer Nicole Zarucki for the physical portion of his category, which involves taping. 

DLS students are also entered into several other individual categories, including Medical Terminology, Pathophysiology, Medical Assisting, Nutrition, Medical Spelling, Healthy Living, and Dental Terminology.