By Shan Yonamine

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The state officers of the Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) club were able to take a break from the more technical aspects of competition and attend the Washington Leadership Academy (WLA), a workshop that focused primarily on teamwork and leadership activities. Three MHS students were able to attend this conference, HOSA State President Senior Brianna Daranciang, State Secretary Senior Jae Yun Lee and State Leadership Intern Sophomore Brysen Pasion. The conference was held in Washington D.C. at the Hilton McLean hotel from Sept. 17 to 20.

“(WLA is) basically a training workshop for state officers from states around that nation who are involved in HOSA (that) come together and we learn about leadership skills, we learn about time management (and) how to better lead HOSA in our state,” explained Daranciang.

At the workshop, students were able to participate in a number of engaging activities, the main purpose being to teach skills and morals that will aid them in being state officers. “We had to go on a scavenger hunt and search for clues, search for answers to our clues and it taught us about leadership along the way,” stated Daranciang, “There was one where we went to the Air and Space Museum and it asked us to find a destroyed spaceship kind of thing and then it was about failure and sometimes leaders can fail but you have to keep going and that’s what that mission was.”

Students were also exposed to a motivational speaker, 1998 HOSA National President Lowell Doringo, on the opening day of the conference. Doringo gave the officers tips about leading and told them what to expect in the workshop. “He got us really excited to be leaders, he gave us good lessons,” stated Pasion.

All the events and training provided by WLA eventually led up to a test of skill and etiquette in which officers had to speak to their state representatives in Congress. “Talking to congressional members was very nerve-wracking. It was pretty intimidating to think that we would be talking to such important people that represented Hawaii at the state capitol,” explained Daranciang, continuing, “When we actually confronted them, we felt very comfortable with their presence because it was like talking to family. They were very relatable and it was nice knowing that they supported an organization like HOSA.”

When speaking to the representatives this year, officers pushed for more funding for health education in an effort to build more programs so that there can be more health care workers in the future.

Attending WLA had a significant impact on the officers’ attitude and poise. “Every year I take them I find that it builds their confidence,” noticed HOSA Adviser Candace Chun. “I can see the way they stand up and the way they speak to people rather than they’re kind of withdrawn, so this leadership conference shows them a lot of different kinds of activities to help them build that kind of confidence within themselves.”

Provided that funding is present, MHS hopes to have state officers that are eligible to attend WLA in years to come.