Contributed FUTURE LEADERS — Thirty health technology students attended the Ohio HOSA-Future Health Professionals Fall Leadership Conference at the Northeast Ohio College of Medicine in Rootstown.

BLOOMINGDALE — Health technologies students at Jefferson County Joint Vocational School sharpened their knowledge during the annual Ohio HOSA-Future Health Professionals Fall Leadership Conference on Oct. 14.

About 30 juniors and seniors traveled to the Northeast Ohio College of Medicine in Rootstown, where they took part in sessions to learn about leadership and team work. HOSA-Future Health Professionals, formerly known as Health Occupations Students of America, supports those intending to work in the healthcare field and members from across the state joined in the conference.

JVS instructor Tammy Sismondo, who advises the school chapter, said it was a rewarding experience for the students.

“They said the breakout sessions were on point,” Sismondo added.

Several of those who attended agreed they learned a lot from the workshops, led by state HOSA officers.

“It helped us be leaders and improve our leadership skills, and to put those skills into real-life scenarios,” said senior Brianna Householder.

“We did different workshops to help us learn different leadership skills,” added senior Dana Haynes. “We did darts and targets and everybody was working together to reach a goal, plus we had a stacked cup pyramid that showed the need for one layer to build another.”

Householder added that with the latter, students learned that if they cheered on their peers it bolstered productivity and improved their scores.

“It showed the need to support each other,” she commented.

“I learned how to get a guide to help build what you are trying to achieve,” said senior Abby Kocher.

Haynes noted that the conference was also a great way to meet new people.

“The Fall Leadership Academy really helped me build leadership and my public speaking skills. What I liked most was meeting people from all around Ohio,” she said.

The event comes on the heels of the student’s excursion to the nation’s capital for the HOSA-Future Health Professionals Washington Leadership Academy Sept. 19-23, where they joined about 500 HOSA members from across the U.S. and participated in intense training sessions and viewed national monuments, landmarks and museums.