One of the greatest satisfactions of my work at Esperanza College is seeing our students succeed and upholding Esperanza’s mission: “to enhance the outlook of young people and adults so that they can live even more thoughtful, positive, productive, and purposeful lives.”
Since the STEM fields have historically been an area where Latino/a individuals are underrepresented, we strive to bring students opportunities in these areas that will challenge them and encourage them to consider pursuing a career that God has perhaps created them to be successful in.
A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to travel with Esperanza’s Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) Future Health Professionals team members to the International Leadership Conference (ILC) and competition, which took place at the end of June in Dallas, Texas. In order to compete at ILC, students must qualify by winning gold, silver, or bronze medals in their events at the state level conference. Our team all earned gold! The conference is the culmination of our students’ hard work and the highlight of the year.
The theme of the conference was “Beyond All Limits” and brought together more than 12,000 individuals with similar career goals from different countries and different educational levels to learn about healthcare issues in our world.
Esperanza College was represented by five students from the health sciences program: Axxel Castillo ’24, Jasmin De Jesus ’23, Mateo Guzman ’24, Cristal Soto ’23, and Esteban Vidal ’23. The conference included a variety of activities: educational seminars, competitions, exams, workshops, and an exhibition. Students also had the opportunity to network with representatives from different schools, including medical programs and healthcare employers.
“One of the things I liked the most about ILC was the amount of resources and information available in one place,” Esteban shared. “Visiting the diversity of tables in the expo really encouraged me to stay on my path to a career in health sciences.”
The competitive events focused on leadership and professional skills, as well as anatomy and physiology. The students had prepared, practiced, and studied. Their efforts were rewarded, as every student placed in their competition!
“HOSA ILC was an experience that I will never forget,” Axxel shared. “I was not only challenged scientifically and in the field of health, but in relation to my competence in creative problem solving, my leadership skills, cooperation, and creative thinking. This is an experience that I will carry with me for the rest of my life as I go beyond all limits.”
I am very proud of the work of these students. The integration of our values of Faith, Reason, and Justice, combined with rigorous academic courses and extracurricular activities such as HOSA, nourish our students and allow them to develop and become caring, well-rounded individuals. As I reflect on where these students were when they first walked into Esperanza and where they are today, I am inspired by the changes and know that they are going to fulfill their calling and make an impact in our community.
