Five Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts students earned recognition at the 2026 HOSA State Leadership Conference.
HOSA is an international organization for future health professionals. Formerly known as the Health Occupations Students of America, HOSA encourages its members to explore the medical field through service, professional development and collaboration.
Students who earned recognition at this year’s state conference included:
- Pilar Johnson, a junior from Hensley, first place, Clinical Laboratory Science;
- Kemdi Ekeanyanwu, a junior from Little Rock, first place, Prepared Speaking;
- Anna Le, a senior from Fort Smith, second place, Healthcare Administration;
- Paola Sustaita, a senior from Sheridan, second place, Health Informatics; and
- Bella Guzman, a senior from Benton, third place, Dental Science.
Dr. Patrycja Krakowiak, a Life Sciences Instructor of Excellence and chair of ASMSA’s Science Department, was recognized as the “New Advisor of the Year,” an award given to a teacher based on nomination essays written by their students. The state competition was held Feb 23-24 in Hot Springs.
This was the first year ASMSA students have competed in the HOSA competition. The school previously had a Young Medical Professionals Club before converting to a HOSA club. Krakowiak credited the students’ opportunity to successfully compete at the state contest to the leadership of club co-presidents Kaitleen Toh and Luis Vidal who led the efforts to transform the previous club to its current affiliation.
Fourteen ASMSA students attended and competed at the state event, where they had the opportunity to network with peers from other schools, participate in breakout sessions about medical professions and have a first-hand opportunity to use an Anatomage Table, which is an interactive 3D touchscreen platform used for virtual human and animal dissection.
Students who placed in the state competition earned the opportunity to compete in the 2026 HOSA International Conference, which will be held June 17-20 at the Indianapolis Convention Center in Indianapolis, Ind.