When Brighton High School senior Brenna Waid decided to join HOSA, a club at BHS geared towards testing skills and knowledge relating to the healthcare field, it was simply because she “was interested in going into nursing” and wanted to broaden her knowledge and skills.
Just seven months after she joined, she was named State Champion in Clinical Nursing and secured a spot at HOSA’s International Leadership Conference.
Waid competed alongside 25 other BHS students at the Michigan HOSA State Leadership Conference in Traverse City from April 17-18, 2025. Nine students were named state finalists, and two students—Waid and fellow senior Skyla Magee—won their events and will advance to internationals in Nashville, Tennessee, from June 18-21, 2025.
HOSA advisor and health occupations teacher Brielle Haupt said that states went “extremely well.”
“It is amazing to see the students excel in healthcare-related topics at the high school level,” Haupt said.
Students competed in a variety of events ranging from physical therapy to nutrition. Many students had to both take written exams and perform physical procedures to demonstrate their proficiency in their field.
Junior Addison Hamilton chose to compete in the phlebotomy event.
“I was really interested in how many different skills and jobs that they have,” said Hamilton, who went on to become a state finalist.
To qualify for states, students had to place in the top seven for their event at the Michigan HOSA Regional Leadership Conference on January 11, 2025. More BHS students than ever qualified for states since Haupt first founded BHS’s HOSA chapter in 2022.
“It is important for students to participate in HOSA because it provides them [with] different leadership opportunities that highlight various aspects of healthcare, including public speaking, clinical skills [and] medical knowledge…Students who participate in HOSA develop life-long skills that will benefit them in their future health care careers,” Haupt said.
HOSA offers more than just practical skills and opportunities for awards, though; it also gives members the opportunity to connect with other students with similar interests from across the state and country. Hamilton said that she enjoyed how “open” the state competition was to individuals from all different backgrounds.
“There were people from all different cities, backgrounds and ethnicities. Nobody cared what others looked like; we all shared the same goal of helping others through the healthcare field,” she said.
The competition also gave the students on BHS’s team the opportunity to bond outside of a school setting.
“Outside of the competition, we were able to have team dinners and go downtown Traverse City for coffee, shopping and exploring!” Haupt said.
