Students advance to state competition

HARLINGEN - Twenty-one Rio Grande Valley students will represent the South Texas Independent School District at the Health Occupations Students of America state competition in April.

Twelve of the students automatically advanced to the state competition in McAllen after taking top honors on a HOSA online test administered in December.

Seven other students advanced by scoring in the top 10 percent of the Kaiser Permanente Healthcare Issues Exam, which "encourages health science students to investigate, analyze and apply their knowledge of current health-care issues," according to the HOSA Web site.

Alex Barrica of Harlingen, a junior at the South Texas High School for Health Professions, won first place in the individual medical terminology category.

This is the second consecutive year that Barrica, 16, advanced to the state competition in this category.

"It was a great experience and I met a lot of people and I got to spend time with my classmates," Barrica said. "I didn't place (at state) last year but this year I hope to make it to nationals in Nashville."

Barrica hopes to pursue a career in medical business and said being involved with HOSA has exposed her to different people and cultures that will come in handy in her career.

Junior Julienne Dy of McAllen placed first in human growth and development and senior Amanda Estrada of Mission also placed first in dental terminology.

McAllen juniors Ryan Palacios and King Pascual were also first-place finishers in the pharmacology and pathophysiology categories, respectively.

Some of the top 10 percent-scoring students on the Kaiser Permanente Healthcare Issues Exam are Med High seniors Lori James of Harlingen and Amalia Hernandez of La Feria and Med Tech senior Samantha Sanchez of San Benito.

Other STISD students advancing to the state competition include: Pauline Castro, Cristina Garcia, Anton Lesaca, Santiago Diaz, Diego Gallegos, Eleanor Solis, Eliana Vasquez, Arturo Arriaga, Levi Montes, Roxette Platas, Hunaid Rana, and Christopher Sandoval.