Return to Headlines

Ben Eielson HOSA Students Bring Home State Medals | May 9, 2023

The Ben Eielson Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) - Future Health Professionals Club entered seven students in statewide competitions in healthcare fields. All seven students won a top three medal in their respective events!

 
Medal winners at HOSA SLC -  (Front row) Averie Laney & Zoe Fuller (Back row) Bella Kovacs, Dawson Mannan & Lani Deener

Middle School

In Middle School competitions, Ben Eielson students took the three top spots in the Health Career Exploration competition.  Roslyn Russell placed 1st for a gold medal, Bella Jeck placed silver, and Ashlynn Woodward brought home the bronze. Roslyn and Bella are Ben Eielson students, and Ashlynn has since transferred to Tanana Middle School. Roslyn also earned the gold medal in the Medical Reading contest.  

 
Roslyn Russell, gold medal recipient, Ben Eielson HOSA member


Bella Jech, silver medal recipient, Ben Eielson HOSA member

High School


Left to right: Lani Deener, Averier Laney, Dawson Mannan, Zoe Fuller, Bella Kovacs, and (Advisor) Connie Browder

Ben Eielson sent five high school students to the HOSA State Leadership Conference held in Anchorage March 29-31. All five students earned top three medals in their respective healthcare competitions. 

Ailani Deener, senior, earned a bronze medal in Health Informatics. She loves the healthcare opportunities HOSA provides and has plans for a future in pediatrics or a therapy career.

Junior Averie Laney competed in the Veterinary Medicine competition, earning a silver medal. She scored high enough in the written exam to qualify for the Veterinary Skills segment of the competition. Averie has plans to earn a degree in Veterinary Medicine. She enjoys the friends she’s made through HOSA and the opportunities to learn more about healthcare.

The First Aid/CPR competition required a team of two students. Dawson Mannan, senior, and Zoe Fuller, sophomore, teamed up to take home silver medals. They also had to score high enough on the written exam to qualify for the skills competition and beat out a large group of competitors to grab the silver medal. Both students are interested in EMT services. Dawson currently interns with the EAFB fire department and Zoe is already a certified Emergency Trauma Technician.

The final winner from BEHS was Bella Kovacs, senior, who competed in the Behavioral Health contest. She took home the gold medal in that category. Bella plans to major in Human Services and pursue a career in physical therapy. She has been a HOSA member all four years of high school and has enjoyed all she has gained from it.

The club has had previous winners in state competitions, but this was the first year that every single student entered in the various healthcare competitions won medals. All five have qualified to attend and compete at the International HOSA Conference in Dallas, Texas in June.

Connie Browder, the health sciences teacher at BEHS, has been the Ben Eielson HOSA club advisor since the club began in 2017. She will retire this May after 26 years of service with the Fairbanks North Star Borough School District.