EVIT Health Students Shine at HOSA Conference

Submitted by Tiffani Nichols.

Students from the East Valley Institute of Technology participated in the Arizona Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) Spring Conference competition April 1-3 in Tucson. Of the 52 students competing, 31 placed in the top five or were named to state offices (photo attached). Gold medalists will travel to the HOSA National Leadership Conference June 20-23 in Orlando, Florida to compete for national titles.

1st Place

• Medical Assisting: Cassie Walker (Highland)
• Veterinary Science: Sarah Helmstadter (Chandler)
• Extemporaneous Poster: Shana Vales (Highland)
• HOSA Bowl: Cristian Chiriboga (Queen Creek), John Poirier (Queen Creek), Tyler Routt (Apache Junction) and Heather Walters (Queen Creek)

2nd Place

• Medical Assisting: Katie Tritschler (Highland)
• Nursing Assisting: Emily Harney (Skyline)
• EMT: Rachael Young (Queen Creek) and Isabella Dishong (Highland)

3rd Place

• Medical Assisting: Carol Castillo (Gilbert)
• Veterinary Science: Isabel Montano (Mesquite)
• Medical Terminology: Blossom Mendonca (Highland)
• HOSA Bowl: Jaime Chase (Chandler), Sidni DeMik (Chandler), Teresa Hernandez (Skyline) and Alexis Stein (Fountain Hills)

4th Place

• Pharmacology: Corbin White (Mesquite)
• EMT: Lexi Christensson (Perry) and Mariah Dreher (Highland)
• Veterinary Science: Shawna Wood (Campo Verde)

5th Place

• Medical Reading: Danielle Garza (Mesquite), Samira Shah (Arizona Virtual Academy) and Lyndsey Stoffel (East Valley Academy)
• HOSA Bowl: Katlyn Fritzsche (Red Mountain), Sierra Huels (Dobson), Monica Quinones (McClintock) and Diana Terreros (Red Mountain)

EVIT students elected to AzHOSA officer positions include Moriah McCarthy (McClintock) as state secretary and Gene Pomeroy (Mesa Distance Learning) as state parliamentarian.

Additionally, EVIT was recognized as the winner of the Service Project Award for raising more than $7,400 for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF).