Polk State Chain of Lakes Collegiate Students Qualify for State HOSA Competition

Posted on by Polk Newsroom

As has become its tradition, Polk State Chain of Lakes Collegiate High School will once again have students competing in the statewide HOSA conference.

HOSA-Future Health Professionals is a national organization for students pursuing careers in the healthcare industry. By providing students with opportunities to develop knowledge, skills and leadership, it aims to enhance the delivery of compassionate, quality health care.

The 2015 regional HOSA competition recently took place at Winter Haven High School.

Polk’s results at the regional level included:

First place in Nutrition (knowledge test) — Laurel Tanke, Winter Haven

First place in Medical Reading (knowledge test) — Sydney Weber, Haines City

First place in Clinical Specialty (health profession event) — Alaina Insua, Winter Haven

First place in Prepared Speaking (leadership event) — Marcus Tarver, Winter Haven

First place in Biomedical Debate (teamwork event) — Issam Katramiz, Heather Tanke, and Victoria Whiting, all of Winter Haven

First place in Creative Problem Solving (teamwork event) — Ogarth Hutton, Winter Haven, Chance Jones, Davenport, Joel Yap, Lake Wales

First place in Health Education (teamwork event) — Kunal Shah and Sarah Fleischman, both of Winter Haven

Second place in Medical Math (knowledge test) — Rene Respicio, Winter Haven

Second place in Community Awareness (teamwork event) — Jessica Gerardo-Chavez, Gonzalo Gutierrez, both of Haines City, Sherone White, Winter Haven, Dalton Reith, Auburndale

Second place in Health Career Display — McKenzie Kuehl, Winter Haven, Marlene Zapien, Bartow

Third place in Medical Reading (knowledge test) — Laurmi Hernandez, Winter Haven

Third place in Biomedical Debate (teamwork event) — Jason Katwaru, Winter Haven, Payne Sewnarine, Ryan Seelal, both of Dundee

Students who placed first, second or third at the regional level will go on to compete at the state conference in Orlando in March. This is the fourth consecutive year Polk State Chain of Lakes students have competed at the state level.

Additional regional results included:

Fourth place in Dental Terminology (knowledge test) — Ysarah Preval, Kissimmee

Fourth place in Medical Photography (leadership event) — Maggie Ford, Auburndale

Courtesy Corps — John Portlock, Winter Haven

Also participating in the regional competition were Zak Baksch, Winter Haven; Grace Corbett, Winter Haven; Destiny Crowley, Haines City; Claire Godwin, Winter Haven; Sophia Hafner, Winter Haven; Chi-Chi Ilonzo, Winter Haven; and Myla’Sha Williams, Haines City.

Polk State College operates three public, charter high schools. Polk State Lakeland Collegiate and Polk State Chain of Lakes Collegiate in Winter Haven serve academically outstanding juniors and seniors, allowing them to fulfill requirements for their high school diplomas while also earning college credit — all at no cost. In many cases, students graduate with both their diplomas and associate’s degrees. Polk State Lakeland Gateway to College Collegiate High School serves students at risk of not graduating or dropping out of school, helping them to get back on academic track and earn college credits.