What’s up, Wildcats! My name is Kait and I am a junior psychology major with a minor in public health. Last year, I was a resident assistant (RA) in Sawyer Hall and I have recently been re-elected on both the UNH HOSA Executive Board as president for the 2023-2034 academic year and the UNH Her Campus Executive Board as event planner. I also teach Zumba four times a week at the UNH Hamel Rec Center during the school year. I am the president of the Pre-Med Society and I am a member of the Red Cross Club, the Ski and Board Club, and American Cancer Society. I am also a research assistant in the Cognition, Brain and Language Lab, and I am the only Dean’s Ambassador for my major in the College of Health and Human Services. I occupy my free time by running my own baking business called Kait’s Cakes and I also tutor peers using Knack! Over the summer I try to enjoy some time off to relax and spend time with friends. I worked as a substitute Zumba instructor at the Zoo Health Club and I was a nursing assistant working in home care out of Salem, New Hampshire. I also traveled with a close family friend who sets up Greek donut ice cream cone booths at fairs around New England as a chance to travel a bit and have some fun! Now that you know a little bit about me, I wanted to share my experience at this year’s HOSA International Leadership Conference in Dallas, Texas. UNH HOSA, a student organization that promotes career opportunities in the health industry, was started last fall upon my arrival at UNH and it has been a blast ever since its creation. From establishing a constitution to having all of our members place top 10 internationally this year, UNH HOSA has been life-changing. To learn more about HOSA, visit https://hosa.org. To learn more about UNH HOSA, check out our Instagram, @unhhosa.
HOSA has been a part of my life since my sophomore year of high school. So, yes, just over four years. It all began at the Manchester School of Technology HOSA Chapter which was run alongside my career and technical education course, Health Sciences & Technology, which allowed me to become a licensed nursing assistant by graduation. In 2019, I placed third in Healthy Lifestyle at the New Hampshire state level back when it was still combined with Vermont. After that State Leadership Conference (SLC), about ten of us attended the International Leadership Conference (ILC) in Orlando, Florida. I had never attended any conference before and it was unlike anything I had ever experienced. I loved learning about new topics and meeting so many different groups of people. After the disastrous years that were 2020 and 2021, we were finally able to attend SLC in 2022 with UNH after starting the first-ever collegiate chapter in the state. With nine first-place state champions, we advanced to ILC in Nashville, Tennessee last June and had two members place in the top 10, and another member, Rose Wallace, placed second internationally for Nutrition. This year was unlike any other: ALL of our UNH competitors placed in the top 10 within their respective events. Exciting stuff! Long story short, ILC was a blast and I’m here to walk you through our trip! Enjoy :)
Tuesday, June 20th, 2023
4:00 a.m.: Meet at Boston Logan Airport
All members met at the airport to find our gate and check luggage prior to our flight departure.
6:00 a.m.: Plane departed from Boston
10:23 a.m.: Medical emergency landing
A passenger on our plane had a medical emergency so we had to make an emergency landing at the Cincinnati Airport in Kentucky. Our plane kept getting delayed every hour from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. until we finally switched our flight by calling customer service. It was a LONG travel day!
8:40 p.m.: Plane departed from Kentucky
12:00 a.m. (Dallas time): Plane arrived in Dallas
We picked up our luggage and ordered a ride to our hotel!
12:30 a.m.: We Ubered to the Bishop Arts Hotel by Blue Lofts
Once we got to the hotel, we ended up watching movies and catching up after such an exhausting day.
Wednesday, June 21st, 2023
10:00 a.m.: We got a rental car and took it to the Dallas World Aquarium!
We spent a few hours at the aquarium before heading back to the hotel to change for the opening session at the start of the conference later Wednesday evening.
3:00 p.m.: Hotel
We got ready and headed to the Omni Dallas Hotel attached to the convention center.
4:00 p.m.: HOSA Expo
After arriving at the Omni, we entered Ballroom E and explored the plethora of tables and vendors HOSA provided us in one big room. They even had a Chick-fil-A on wheels… come on now. All jokes aside, getting to chat with potential graduate schools and other undergraduate students was a great opportunity. They even had an ongoing blood drive going on in the back throughout the entire week.
5:00 p.m.: Conference registration
I met up with the hotel staff to collect our UNH pins, lights, agendas and pens for the opening session and of course for the rest of the week.
6:00 p.m.: Sonic break!
One of our goals for this trip was to try lots of the fast food joints we don’t have around New England! First up, Sonic! It was good — just disappointed at the lack of roller skaters!
7:30-9:00 p.m.: HOSA opening session
We went back to the Omni (just a short two minute drive) and attended the opening session where we heard from Keynote Speaker ADM Brett Giroir and learned more about the days ahead.
9:30 p.m.: Hotel
We were exhausted at this point so we went back to the hotel to reset for the day and watched Neighbors in the living room. We ended up getting groceries as well for breakfast in the morning.
Thursday, June 22nd, 2023
10:00 a.m.: Vice President Tyler and Secretary Linda made breakfast at the hotel for everyone!
11:00 a.m.: Museum of Illusions
We all grabbed coffee and checked out the Museum of Illusions in Dallas! We spent a few hours there and did some shopping. We enjoyed some chocolate and ice cream tasting and went cowboy boot shopping!
12:00 p.m.: Reunion Tower
We enjoyed the view of the Reunion Tower even in the 105°F weather!
2:00 p.m.: Jack in the Box
We tried another fast food chain we had never seen before! This one was definitely our favorite!
3:30 p.m.: Hotel
I dropped everyone off at the hotel since their events were not until the next day and changed into my business attire.
5:00 p.m.: My competitive event exam
Because my event is in the leadership category, I have two rounds: an exam and a speech on the advantages and disadvantages of virtual learning. I placed high enough on the exam to advance to the speech round, so I practiced while I waited until my appointment later on.
6:30 p.m.: My competitive event speech
I thought I did pretty well besides the fact that I was finishing up my last sentence when I ran out of time. That definitely cost me a spot in the top three. However, I am pleased to announce I placed fourth internationally in my event (Researched Persuasive Writing & Speaking).
7:30 p.m.: Hotel
I grabbed us pizza on the way home and we just relaxed at the hotel for the night since we had to be up bright and early for their events the next morning!
Friday, June 23rd, 2023
7:00 a.m.: Leave Hotel
8:00 a.m.: Linda’s competitive event exam
8:30 a.m.: Tyler and Mena’s competitive event exams
9:30 a.m.: We left the Omni to grab more groceries and to find coffee! We ended up just going to a Starbucks down the road and a CVS.
1:00 p.m.: Emma’s competitive event exam
2:00 p.m.: Aamir’s competitive event exam
While we waiting for everyone’s exams to wrap up, we traded pins with other HOSA members from other chapters and explored the Expo one last time. After a long morning, we spent the afternoon relaxing at the pool and taking in the sun — New Hampshire had been nothing but rain so it was nice! (For about 10 minutes…)
8:00 p.m.: Club Vivo
We went out on the town in downtown Dallas! We had a great time dancing the night away and making new friends.
Saturday, June 24th, 2023
10:00 a.m.: Shopping in downtown Dallas
We explored some of the stores near our hotel and got gifts for our families, and maybe a treat or two for ourselves. It was pretty hot outside so we stayed inside as much as possible!
11:00 a.m.: White Rhino Coffee
Then we had the obligatory coffee stop at a cute little coffee shop called White Rhino — it was adorable. Mena got a Snickerdoodle coffee and I think that was my favorite. I got a toasted coconut latte with caramel and it was SCRUMPTIOUS! I felt like Anna Sitar from Tiktok.
5:00 p.m.: General awards session one: my event
My event was during the first session, and I got fourth place! All of my team members were there in the crowd to support me as I was for them in the following session.
6:30 p.m.: Whataburger break
We grabbed some dinner in between sessions and still managed not to miss any awards!
7:30 p.m.: General awards session two
We had an outstanding turnout! Our Results:
Fifth place – Tyler (Behavioral Health)
Fifth place – Linda (Epidemiology)
Seventh place – Mena (Behavioral Health)
Eighth place – Aamir (Medical Math)
Ninth place – Emma (Medical Law & Ethics)
10:00 p.m.: HOSA Dance
We gathered with the other HOSA members at the Omni for the HOSA Dance! We didn’t last very long because we had such a long day, but we danced for about 45 minutes and then decided to go back to the hotel for showers and a movie or two.
Sunday, June 25th, 2023
6:00 a.m.: Emma departed Dallas
Emma is from California and the rest of us are from New England so she often flies alone. She flew home a bit earlier than us this year. We dropped her off at the airport!
11:00 a.m.: Hotel check out
We loaded our luggage into our rental and spent the rest of the day poolside before heading back to the airport.
2:00 p.m.: Tacos Y Chelas Mexican restaurant
Absolute 10/10 minus the fact that they ran out of guacamole by that point in the day. But hey, that probably means it’s good.
4:00 p.m.: Rental car drop off
We took an Uber from the drop-off location to Dallas/Forth Worth International Airport. Our luggage fit — but BARELY!
7:40 p.m.: Our Flight was supposed to take off.
Our flight got delayed about an hour so we didn’t get back to Boston until around 1 a.m., but nonetheless, it was a fun time!
1:00 a.m.: Arrival in Boston
Family and friends arrived to pick up members.
Overall it was a super fun time and we are SO excited to get planning for next year. ILC will be in Houston, Texas next year! For more information on the 2024 HOSA ILC, visit https://hosa.org/ilc/. For more information on joining UNH HOSA, join our Facebook group here: https://m.facebook.com/groups/1287838841941937/?ref=share&mibextid=DcJ9fc. Thank you so much for reading. I’m so excited to see what next year has in store for us!
Contact Me:
603-998-9746