March 27-28, Missouri University of Science and Technology held HOSA state in Rolla. Howell sent 43 students and 18 of them qualified for nationals.

“We collaborated with other schools and found out more about the health care field as a whole and explored career paths within the field,” sophomore Matt Hemmersmeier said.

“There were over 35 different competitive events including; community awareness (domestic violence), knowledge of medical-terminology, forensic science, and public health,” science teacher Jamie Jobe said.

Although eliminated after the second round, Hemmersmeier and his partner, sophomore Taylor Russell, competed in forensic science. The teams with the top 20 scores moved on to round two after completing an online test over terminology.

“Matt and I were given a scenario of a death, and we had to figure out the victim’s time of death, manner of death, and cause of death,” Russell said. “Everyone there was really talented at what they do, so the competition was pretty steep.”

Sophomores Callee Unrein, Sarah Ortbal, Adeline Ferreira, and Ana Johannesman were four of the 18 that qualified to go to Orlando, Florida, June 21-24. At the state competition, the four were was challenged in public health and presented on the Zika virus.

“It was really nerve racking to present in front of two judges. Even though we were prepared, it still was a lot of pressure,” Unrein said.

“Overall it was a really fun experience to work with peers that were interested in the same career path as me,” Russell said.