Rockwood Students Earn Awards, Recognition at HOSA International Leadership Conference

Students and recent graduates representing the Lafayette High and Marquette High chapters of the HOSA - Future Health Professionals club earned accolades at the HOSA International Leadership Conference (ILC), which was held June 17-20 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

These Rockwood School District students joined more than 15,000 attendees -- including HOSA members, advisors, accomplished health professionals and alumni -- from around the world for days filled with vibrant HOSA-centered activities.

Rockwood's top-10 finishers in their competitive events were: Lafayette’s Noah Bairu and Timothy Zheng (5^th, Medical Innovation); Marquette’s Mihir Busani, Dharsha Ghattu and Advik Nadikota (8^th, Creative Problem Solving); and Claire Eltoft (9^th, Medical Reading). More than 12,000 students participated in competitive events at the ILC, and these three Rockwood entries were among only 12 event winners from the state of Missouri.

Marquette’s Advik Nadikota (Gold); Shreyansh Guduru, Jahnavi Immidisetti and Lafayette’s Uma Narayanan, Shruthi Senthil and Yashu Senthilkumar (Silver); and Lafayette’s Mahi Chechani and Marquette’s Saanvi Makkapati and Tanvi Narendrula (Bronze) also earned Barabara James Service Award recognition, which provides members with the opportunity to become contributing members of their communities by performing worthy volunteer community service hours related to health. They were among 59 students from Missouri to earn the award at this year's ILC.

The Lafayette HOSA chapter was also one of only five chapters from Missouri to earn a Certificate of Merit for its service project, presented to chapters that logged more than 500 hours of service and/or collected more $500 in donations on behalf of the National Marrow Donor Program.

Nearly 70 students from Eureka, Lafayette and Marquette earned the opportunity to participate in the ILC by logging top-three finishes at the Missouri State Leadership Conference in March.

Here's a rundown of the recognition our Rockwood students earned on an international stage!

Competitive Events

• Noah Bairu and Timothy Zheng, Lafayette – Medical Innovation (5^th)
• Mihir Busani, Dharsha Ghattu and Advik Nadikota, Marquette – Creative Problem Solving (8^th)
• Claire Eltoft, Lafayette – Medical Reading (9^th)

Barbara James Service Award

• Advik Nadikota, Marquette – Gold
• Shreyansh Guduru, Marquette – Silver
• Jahnavi Immidisetti, Marquette – Silver
• Uma Narayanan, Lafayette – Silver
• Shruthi Senthil, Lafayette, Silver
• Yashu Senthilkumar, Lafayette – Silver
• Mahi Chechani, Lafayette – Bronze
• Saanvi Makkapati, Marquette – Bronze
• Tanvi Narendrula, Marquette – Bronze

HOSA Service Project Recognition

• Lafayette – Certificate of Merit