2015 HOSA SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS
On Thursday, March 26, 2015, Andrea West of Novant Health, and I attended the 2014 NC-HOSA Conference
in Greensboro, NC. The above NCHHRA Members participated in the Conference by interviewing and judging
candidates for our HOSA Scholarships. Five HOSA students from high schools across the State competed for
the two NCHHRA Scholarships.
The five student finalists who were interviewed were:
Makayla Wilson
North Buncombe High School
Weaverville, NC
Interest: Emergency or Pediatric Nurse
Thao Kim Pham
Plymouth High School
Plymouth, NC
Interest: Family Physician
Alexander Rains
Topsail High School
Hampstead, NC
Interest: Pharmacist or Clinical Engineer
Star Wilson
Croatan High School
Newport, NC
Interest: Pediatric Oncologist
Lauren Rogerson
Plymouth High School
Plymouth, NC
Interest: Radiology Technician
$1500 Scholarship Winner
The winner of the $1,500 scholarship was Thao Kim Pham from Plymouth High School,
Plymouth, North Carolina. Kim plans to become a family physician. After enrolling in
Health Science courses and becoming an active member in HOSA, Kim’s dream is
slowly becoming reality. She has been accepted in East Carolina Honors College as well
as named a finalist for the Early Assurance Award into Brody School of Medicine. Kim
aspires to become a family physician and give back to her community that has fostered
her growth
Kim currently serves as Chapter President for her HOSA chapter. She participates in
several extracurricular activities including Health Occupations Students of America
(HOSA), Math Club, National Honor Society, and Leap Into the Viking Experience (LIVE) Mentor Program.
Kim volunteers numerous hours to different organizations including Relay for Life, Christmas Prayer, Catechist
Assistant, Autism Speaks, No Kid Hungry: Each One Feed One, Cystic Fibrosis, Juvenile Diabetes and the
American Red Cross.
On of Kim’s Instructor stated, “Kim is highly respected by not only the team of instructors but by the children
under her guidance. She has always shown a great level of maturity and sincerity in every task she undertook,
and even as a young person, she embraced the full meaning of commitment. Kim is a young person who excels
in all personal and academic areas and yet still makes time to stay engaged in the outreach of community
involvement to assist whenever she is needed.”
Kim will attend East Carolina University in the fall to pursue her career goals of becoming a Family Physician.
$1500 Scholarship Winner
The second $1,500 scholarship was awarded to Star Wilson from Croatan High School,
Newport, North Carolina. Emily plans to become a Pediatric Oncologist.
Star’s story was different than most of the interviewees. As a young child, Star was
diagnosed with Tachycardia Pox syndrome, asthma, 5% Lupus and was both with an
enlarged spleen and cyst on left kidney. As the age of five, she was told that she had
Leukemia. Star stated, “Every day I challenge myself to become something great. I am
dedicated in every little thing I do but I never give up. I challenge myself with honors
classes and tend to overload my schedule with volunteer hours, clubs, dance and
theatre….I am so thankful that I no longer have Leukemia. One day I will be able to assist in the health of
children who are scared, depressed, and truly do need someone.”
Star currently serves as the Vice President of the HOSA Club. She recently competed in district competition and
placed first in her event. Star and her classmate created a display that represented the career of Pediatric
Oncology, and with this display, they created a small scale replica of an MRI machine.
Star is active in the school’s drama department and has spent many hours perfecting various productions. She
offers her many talents by volunteering in the community, specifically at the Hem of His Garment. She has
volunteered 212 hours thus far. In addition, she volunteers at the Angel Tree, currently volunteering 200
service hours.
Star’s English Teacher stated, “Star has chosen a rigorous course load, on that entails advanced curriculums. I
am sure that you will meet many candidates with the same commitment to academics, but I feel very confident
that you will meet very few that can effectively balance their course load with the amount of activities that Star
is not only involved in, but setting up and leading in our school on any given day. It is pretty common sight to
see Star her at school very early in the morning and then again well after the last bell has sounded….Star has
made our school a better place. Both altruistic endeavors prove that Star’s character is EXEMPLARY. She is
exceptional.”
Star plans to her degree at University of Mount Olive or East Carolina University.
It is difficult to choose only two of them. In addition to our traditional interviews, one of the interviewees,
Alex, showed us how he could juggling bottles of water. He has learn to juggle rings, clubs, knives, and to
breathe fire. As always, all candidates have such great medical career paths and talents.
Respectfully submitted,
Sherry Cox,
Scholarships Chair