H.O.S.A. Week is no less than a festival to the organization of H.O.S.A. — Health Occupations Students of America – Future Health Professionals. It is a week annually designated for members to give back to their communities through activities, presentations, and recognition. At our school, we admire H.O.S.A. week so much that we celebrate it twice in a school year. HOSA week takes place once before the end of the school year and once in spring.

On each day of the week, the executive board plans an event to provide school or community service, promote opportunities, and show appreciation to the health community while upholding the mission of HOSA. At Passaic Academy of Science and Engineering, this week was held from Monday, November 30 to Friday, December 4.

This year, due to a state of the pandemic, HOSA week was challenging to execute but we made it possible online providing the students with fundraising opportunities, knowledge and experience of the healthcare field, and a chance to destress.

Monday was All about the First Aid Kit. Students learned about what the First Aid Kit was and speaker Sandi Burgess was invited from her organization to explain the first aid kit fundraiser. On Tuesday, attendees were encouraged to write letters of appreciation to our school nurses, nearby hospital workers, or guest speakers who joined us throughout the week. Wednesday is the day where regular HOSA meetings are held so to make it special, very knowledgeable and experienced guest speaker Dr. Voss came to join us with his presentation on Immunology and Vaccines to educate the students about his career and give a better understanding of the COVID-19 Vaccines being developed. Thursday was the Health Care Career Panel, where physicians, medical school students, a nurse, and a biomedical engineer were invited to speak to our students about what they do and their career. On Friday, to wrap it up, we talked about Mental health and a yoga instructor joined us to teach us how to meditate.“Hosa week was a success in my opinion as we had multiple members attend each day and gain some information about the medical field as well as destress a little.

It was fun and I can’t wait for the next one in the spring,” says HOSA Vice President Gabriela Bravo.“It went really well and we got to interact with people in the STEM field. There was a lot of engagement from our members and for a virtual week event, we did great. We got to ask questions to a professional panel and took a break to give thanks and de-stress,” says HOSA Secretary Divya Rana. Besides the board members, many students praised how well the event went. One student commented, “so far this has been awesome and hoping for new HOSA meetings.” Planning and organizing HOSA week may have a lot of effort and time but being able to complete one HOSA week virtually in a smooth manner is an accomplishment on its own. Therefore, HOSA will continue to bring new events and opportunities in its meetings and hopes that more students will take advantage of what HOSA has to offer