BROOKINGS — Brookings Health System is sponsoring three Brookings High School students who have earned the privilege to compete at HOSA’s International Leadership Conference on June 18-21 in Nashville. 

Junior Michelle Lam took first place at the state competition in the Researched Persuasive Writing and Speaking competition category with the topic, “Should GLP-1 medications be sold over the counter or should they be prescription medications only?” Lam researched the health issue and prepared written documentation supporting her thesis that GLP-1 medications should not have open access and stay as prescription medications. She also gave an oral presentation, required to be within four minutes, defending her position on the health topic. After high school, Lam hopes to become a biomedical engineer.

Juniors Lauren Bortnem and Amelia Wendell qualified in the Community Awareness competition category. The Community Awareness competition requires teams of two to six members to educate their own community with a campaign focused on one health or safety-related issue that will impact their whole community. Bortnem and Wendell focused on food insecurity for youth and had 19,228 interactions within the Brookings community, including a social media presence. In addition, they held a food drive at Brookings High School and collected 1,100 items for the Brookings County Food Pantry. After high school, Bortnem hopes to become a medical malpractice attorney while Wendell is still exploring possible health occupations.

According to Brookings High School HOSA adviser Paul Buisker, over 1,300 students from across South Dakota competed in 82 different categories. The students prepare the entire school year for the state HOSA competition with the hope of qualifying for nationals.

HOSA — Future Health Professionals, formerly known as Health Occupations Students of America — is an international student organization that promotes career opportunities in the health care industry and enhances the delivery of quality health care to all people. HOSA provides a unique program of leadership development, motivation and recognition exclusively for secondary, post-secondary, adult and collegiate students enrolled in health science education and biomedical science programs or have interests in pursuing careers in health professions. 

“As the largest healthcare employer in Brookings County, part of Brookings Health System’s vision includes investing in tomorrow’s workforce,” said pPresident and CEO Jason Merkley. “We are proud to invest in these students and the promise they show as future healthcare professionals. We also look forward to continuing our collaboration with the Brookings School District and their sciences Career and Technical Education programs.”