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The Opportunities in Emergency Care (OEC) program at Spring Lake Park High School had two teams place first at the HOSA International Leadership Conference in Houston, Texas. There were more than 12,000 competitors at the event from all over the world.

Four graduates from the Class of 2024 won top honors at the competition in July. Loryn Butzler and Greta Herzog placed first in Emergency Medical Technician competition. Emely Marquez-Garcia and Maria Mora-Pena placed first in the CPR/First Aid competition.

For OEC students, HOSA Future Health Care Professionals provides a place to hone their skills. HOSA is an international professional student organization for students in middle school through college. Its goal is to create a pipeline of students going into healthcare careers which is particularly critical given current and projected workforce shortages in the medical field.

There are 54 chartered HOSA associations globally including one in Minnesota and more than 260,000 members. Spring Lake Park High School has been in HOSA at the state level since 1988 and started attending the International Leadership Conference annually in 2014. The organization encourages high levels of competence by encouraging competition and testing in 96 different health care-related events. 

The path to Houston

For all four competition winners, after the classroom learning at Spring Lake Park High School was complete HOSA has been a place to challenge limits and work towards goals. Each took a similar path to Houston.

Loryn took the CPR/First Aid class as a sophomore. At the time, she had no interest in going into healthcare. After taking the class, she decided she wanted to become a nurse. She has now earned certifications in Electronic Medical Record (EMR), Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA).

Greta also took the CPR/First Aid class as a sophomore and was hooked.

“I got my CPR certification and decided to continue and take Nursing Assistant the next fall,” says Greta. “I earned my CNA certification junior year. This past year, as a senior, I took Emergency Medical Responder and got my EMR certification, then Emergency Medical Technician.”

Maria took CPR/First Aid as a sophomore and then EMR and EMT as a junior. She was certified as an EMT last summer. During her senior year, she had an internship where she learned about phlebotomy, cardiology, advanced respiratory therapy, and sports medicine. She also took the Nursing Assistant class and got that certification at the end of the school year.

Each has been engaged with HOSA activities throughout their OEC experience at Spring Lake Park High School.

“I think HOSA helps members become a leader by building their network, knowledge, and pushing members to strive for more,” says Loryn. “This year, HOSA’s theme was 'dare to create.' To me, this means to be the person who is not afraid of failing and continue to fight to learn and find more ways to help those in need.”

Bill Neiss, who has led the OEC program for 36 years, believes this is a special group.

“This has been an outstanding group, both in and out of the classroom,” says Bill. “All of the competitors have earned their National EMT certification. Outside of class, they put in more than 4,500 hours in lab, community service and medical coverage.  Kind, compassionate, motivated, and fun are some of the descriptors for these students. The results in Houston were icing on the cake.”

Rising to the competition

While Spring Lake Park’s OEC program has placed in the top 10 in EMT and/or CPR/First Aid every year since 2016 at the international competition, this is the first time teams have taken two top spots.

“Because there are 80-100 teams in each event, winning is extremely difficult, having one school win two events in the same year hasn’t happened before in the Emergency Preparedness Events at this level,” says Bill.

Qualifying for international competition requires a 1st, 2nd or 3rd place state finish. This year, Spring Lake Park High School teams competed in Community Emergency Response Team, Nursing Assistant, CPR/First Aid and EMT. Students must pass a 50-question exam in the first round in order to qualify for the scenario round. Approximately two-thirds of competitors are eliminated in this round.

“In Houston, we focused on practicing, studying, and enjoying our time together,” says Maria. “Before the test, we made sure to study and practice all as a team. This time together allowed us to bond together and build each other up. Every time one of the teams went to compete, we would cheer for them and hug them before they went in.”

All four OEC students competing in the EMT event passed the written exam.

“Waiting to see if we qualified was stressful,” says Greta, “but it was so exciting to read that all four of us competing in EMT (Simon Tran, Matthew Higley, Loryn Butzler, and I) had made it to the second round!”

Most teams miss very few, if any, points on the scenario portion. With that many teams, and only one scenario to prove yourselves, there is no room for error. This makes the written exam crucial to winning. The students spent as many, if not more hours studying and taking practice tests as they practiced for all the scenario possibilities. 

The day after the exams, Greta and Loryn competed in the scenario portion of the competition.

“As Greta and I waited for our names to be called to go to compete, we reminded ourselves how much we’ve practiced within the last year and why it is important we do our best,” says Loryn. “With all the nerves of competition, the act of competing was very fun.”

As they stood on stage holding hands, they felt confident in their performance and ready to see the results. Then, they heard their names. Both describe that moment as surreal.

“Winning the EMT competitive event was so surreal and getting to share the moment of our names being announced with my partner, Loryn Butzler, was something I'll never forget,” says Greta.

Maria felt the same at hearing their names for First Aid/CPR.

“It was a feeling of joy knowing that all our effort paid off in the end,” says Maria.

What’s next

Loryn’s OEC experience has heavily impacted her life beyond high school. She is attending nursing school this fall at Winona State University.

“I feel more than ready to take on nursing school. I have learned how to work under pressure, keep up when the workload is tough, and how to be passionate about what I am learning,” says Loryn. “My high school teachers have also taught me what it truly means to be a good student, friend, daughter, and care provider.”

Greta will be the first in her family to enter the medical field.

“The staff of Spring Lake Park High School have done an incredible job at introducing me to healthcare and preparing me to enter the field,” says Greta. “With my certifications, I am able to work in healthcare now, and with all the training and education I have received, I feel confident moving onto higher education.

Greta is attending the University of Minnesota Twin Cities School of Nursing to pursue her Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing. Maria is attending Bethel University, majoring in Neuroscience, and following the pre-med path.

“I will forever treasure the memories and lessons I got out of high school,” says Maria. “Now I will embark on my next journey resembling all the work and dedication my family and teachers have made.”

Bill is basking in the glow of international competition success and hopes to see continued growth from this year’s crop of students.

After teaching 36 years, I could teach another 36 and likely not replicate what this outstanding group of students were able to accomplish in Houston. My hope is that our tradition of HOSA success continues, and that our students see the much bigger picture of hard work, dedication, leadership and community service that are the overarching goals. Bill Neiss, OEC Instructor

Opportunities in Emergency Care is part of the Health and Human Services pathway at Spring Lake Park High School. There are three career and college pathways that each represent a need for future jobs. Students explore careers, gain skills, work on real-world projects and even earn college credit and certifications. Students take courses in one – or all three. Learn more about career and college readiness at Spring Lake Park High School.