Rayaan Asghar, a junior at ELHS, earned first place at a challenging Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA) competition, where high schoolers across the state of Connecticut compete in healthcare related events.
Asghar competed in the Healthcare Photography category, where students take photos related to healthcare or medicine and elaborate on the significance of the image. Students are evaluated based on their photo quality,
connection to healthcare, explanation of the image, and knowledge of medical concepts.
Success in HOSA requires a considerable amount of time outside of the classroom, as students develop and enhance their projects. Asghar spent weeks preparing for the competition, in addition to balancing schoolwork and playing club soccer.
He joined HOSA freshman year, as it aligned with his interests in healthcare. Throughout the club, Asghar was able to explore topics beyond the classroom and further develop skills relevant to his future
career ambitions.
His success in HOSA was the result of his ambition and consistent effort, as he continued to work diligently in and out of the school.
“You learn critical thinking, research and communication skills, and performing under pressure,” Asghar said.
Despite his success, however, he still encountered many challenges, such as trying to manage his nerves while presenting in front of the judges.
“I’m not the greatest speaker. It’s hard to not only memorize a speech, but to articulate it well in front of a group of judges,” Asghar said. “Especially because it’s a high stress moment and a lot of hard work comes down to one moment, it’s easy to forget your lines and speed through your presentation.”
Mary Turano, the Med-term ECE teacher at ELHS and the advisor for HOSA, emphasized that Asghar’s success came from determination and effort.
“Rayaan is probably one of the most determined HOSA students that I’ve had in a very long time,” Ms. Turano said. “He’s a humble, yet a very determined individual, and an all around great person because he’s just always happy. I’ve never seen him in a bad mood and he always comes to give his 100 percent.”
Asghar’s consistency and perseverance reflect his dedication throughout his involvement with HOSA.
Outside of HOSA, Junior Matthew Salek shares time and space with Asghar in both classes and the soccer field.
“He always upbrings people and tries to make the spirit better, especially during soccer season,” Salek said.
During Asghar’s freshman year, he quickly realized that success wasn’t defined by winning, as he did not place at states at HOSA, but still had a meaningful experience.
Asghar learned that “reflecting on growth and improvement were just as important as the end result of the competition.” This experience motivated him to continue to work harder the following years, ultimately leading to his success this year.
Asghar’s advice to students who are interested in joining HOSA is: “There’s going to be a lot of people who are better than you at maybe speaking or writing, but it’s not really about how good you are at each of these things. It’s about how hard you work, how you prepare, and how much effort you put in.”
