Mercer Island High School HOSA returned from the recent state competition in Spokane with seven awards.

HOSA is a Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO) for students interested in professional health careers. The MIHS HOSA chapter was incorporated last year.

This year, under the leadership of co-Presidents Naomi Lewis and Michelle Lee, the membership has tripled and 26 students competed at state on March 8 in Spokane. They are Annika Bhanaker, Luna Chen, Munasip Ertakus, Kate Francke, Kelly Hillard, Juliet Hong, Kelly Hou, Claire Huynh, Aleksandra Kogalovski, Elsa Lanctot, Michelle Lee, Abigail Levine, Naomi Lewis, Run Li, Bridget Navarro, Brian Park, Madeline Pfeiffer, Lindsey Shi, Alexandra Shurygailo, Catherine Shurygailo, Zoe Thomas, Annika Vanderspek, Mary Vanderwall, Ava Vaux, Eden Voss and Emily Yang.

Of those, seven were called to the stage at the awards session. Lindsey Shi won first place in the Medical Terminology Event. Catherine Shurygailo came in fourth in the Medical Law and Ethics Event. Naomi Lewis won second place in the Transcultural Health Care Event. The team of Luna Chen, Claire Huynh, Juliet Hong and Run Li came in fourth in the Public Service Announcement Team Event.

These students have now qualified to attend the national HOSA competition in Orlando, Fla.

While not competing, students attended break-out sessions ranging from lab classes teaching suturing skills, exploration of dissections, “Stop the Bleed” protocol, the science behind hypnotism and strategies for medical school applications.