Anxiety and suspense fill sophomore Dahlia Wildman’s head as she sits next to her friends, knees tucked up against her chest, waiting for first place in sports medicine to be announced at the Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) area competition on Feb 13.
HOSA is an organization that allows students to gain experience and knowledge in medical fields, a group Wildman has been a part of since the beginning of her ninth grade year. Wildman switched her event to sports medicine at the beginning of this year, and after participating in her first competition in this field, won first place and advanced to state.
“I don’t like the anticipation of it at all,” Wildman said. “When they were announcing first place, I heard my friends get really quiet, and I thought I didn’t advance, but then they just started screaming bloody murder.”
Wildman was introduced to HOSA through her sports medicine teacher, Corey Hooks. After joining this organization as another way to pursue her passion in the medical field, Wildman decided to compete in sports medicine for her second year in HOSA.
“I’ve always known I wanted to work in the medical field,” Wildman said. “The more I became involved in HOSA the more I really enjoyed doing it, and the more involved I wanted to become.”
HOSA competitions do not separate students based on their amount of experience, and instead have all students compete against one another. With this year being Wildman’s first time competing in sports medicine, she wasn’t as confident competing against others who have competed before.
“I started crying, I didn’t believe I won first,” Wildman said. “I was in shock because I was competing against seniors that have been in HOSA all of high school, and this was my first time in sports medicine, so I didn’t think I would win.”
For the first time in four years, Bowie is sending several HOSA students to state, Wildman being one of them. She was the only competitor from Bowie in the sports medicine category, and her winning first place in area is a positive change for the program.
“I’m very proud of her for winning first place,” HOSA senior Navika Amar said. “I know how much she had been wanting to win, and I know this is a huge achievement for her and our school.”
Hooks viewed her win as a huge accomplishment for her. Seeing Wildman’s hours and hours of preparation, Hooks believes that she deserved first place due to her dedication to sports medicine.
“I was proud that she beat everyone at the competition,” Hooks said. “If she continues to work as hard as she does, she should get used to winning, and everyone she competes against should get used to losing.”
Students are competing most hours of the day, with the sports medicine competition specifically occurring between 7 pm and 9:15 pm. At the alloted time, Wildman and her competitors were led into a silent, white waiting room, getting taken out one by one once it was their time to compete.
“I was so nauseous and so scared,” Wildman said. “We didn’t know what order we would compete in, and the holding room we were in was completely quiet, you could hear the clock ticking in the background, it was so nerve racking.”
Competing in HOSA area required Wildman to learn six skills on a rubric that was given to her, two of which would be chosen at random for her to perform at the competition. At area, Wildman identified anatomical landmarks on another student’s wrist, as well as wrapped the wrist.
“I found learning new skills on a whim was really hard,” Wildman said. “Especially since it’s my first year, I had to learn everything for the event at once, and it was overwhelming.”
Leading up to the competition, Wildman dedicated her free time to preparing. She practiced skills on her rubric, such as wrapping wrists, on her friends and family daily.
“Dahlia lived and breathed sports medicine all the way up to the tournament,” Hooks said. “In times when other students were talking, she was studying anatomy or practicing her skills.”
In order to compete in area, Wildman had to pass a test in November, which she had an hour to take. She spent her lunch periods studying text books lent to her by Hooks to learn all the information she needed to advance.
“I always saw her in FIT with Mr. Hooks practicing her skills and studying,” Amar said. “HOSA comps have always been stressful for me, and I saw they were for her too, but she learned balance that is super important in order to have positive end results.”
The end of summer vacation marked the beginning of competition preparations for Wildman. While she was competing solo in sports medicine, Wildman was able to find comfort and encouragement from other Bowie students in different HOSA fields.
“I really like the community HOSA has,” Wildman said. “I was stressed about the competition, but my friends in it, who have been competing for all of high school, have been lending me advice and moral support.”
HOSA has branches in many schools all over the world. Members of the Bowie branch have been able to work closely with one another, and form friendships and bonds from competing in the same field or as teams.
“Sports medicine specifically has given me a community,” Wildman said. “It’s helped me become a lot more confident, and I’ve gotten to know so many new people.”
Just beginning her time in HOSA, Wildman placing first leads Amar to have high hopes for Wildman’s future in HOSA. Being a sophomore, Wildman will have the rest of her time in high school to be able to learn more and strengthen her skills.
“Her being a sophomore means that every year she will perform better with learning from her mistakes,” Amar said. “This is the first time in four years we have sent any competitors to state, and I have strong hopes she will make it to nationals one of these years.”
