As a freshman, Rosemarie knew she wanted to create a Chaminade HOSA club. “I wanted to start it right away in fall when I first came to Chaminade,” says the nursing major. “But since I was a freshman I didn’t really know what to do yet. In spring, I got some upperclassmen to help me and from there we started our various community service projects and going to competitive events. Now Chaminade has an official HOSA club that’s affiliated with the international organization.”
Rosemarie Maltezo has been a member of HOSA-Future Health Professionals ever since high school. The international student organization is designed to empower future healthcare leaders and member students participate in community service, leadership opportunities, networking events and competitions.
The Chaminade club started in the spring semester of 2018. Within a few months, they had won first place in the statewide HOSA competition for their project on preventing teen dating violence. By the summer of 2018, they had won second place in the international competition in Dallas, Texas.
“We had to give a 10-minute presentation on a public health topic,” says Rosemarie. “We wanted to show the signs and symptoms of dating violence so to think outside of the box we put together a video that told the story of three different teenage girls. The video seemed to really hit the judges, they seemed like they were about to cry.”
The team is already eagerly awaiting next year’s competition in Orlando, Florida. They hope to expand the club to include other students interested in healthcare from other majors and bring even more team members with them next year. “Students interested in business can do it too,” says Rosemarie. “Anyone who is interested in something health-related can join.”
Watch a video that Rosemarie and her team created about their experience at HOSA in Dallas. Then, watch the award-winning video that Rosemarie and her HOSA team created for the competition.