HOSA Student Parli Pro Team Success Barbara Bonsignore, PRP

HOSA Student Parli Pro Team Success

By Barbara Bonsignore, PRP

The Health Occupations Student Association (HOSA) 43rd Annual International Leadership Conference June 24-27, 2020, became the Virtual ILC 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. While that necessary decision curtailed some of the in-person enjoyment of the event for the participants, it was an incentive for the Novi High School Parli Pro Team from Michigan to excel in the preparation and execution of their parliamentary procedure skills.

The purpose of the competition is to develop leadership skills in HOSA members by using parliamentary procedure to conduct a simulated business meeting. Because the event is based on team competition, members learn the importance of cooperation and working together through competitive performance.

The secret topic for the teams to use in building their business meetings was posted on May 4. All teams prepared a response to the secret topic and recorded a video of themselves giving the presentation for judges.

Novi, Mi, high School Parli Pro Team June 2020

Back Row: (L to R) Vasudha Nimmagadda (Secretary), Vikshita Pallerla, Riya Bhivare (President), Meghana Lanka Front Row: (L to R) Kaushik Chinnam, Jacob Huang, Varun Nimmagadda (Treasurer), Ashwin Balaji

The videos were uploaded by the first of June. Teams were also required to upload a copy of their meeting minutes. In addition, all teams took a parliamentary procedure test of 50 questions in 30 minutes. The scores on the video presentations were added to the test scores for final placement. The parli pro team from Novi High School took first place in the international competition. Congratulations students!

Forty-eight states in the U.S. participate in HOSA, as well as American Samoa, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Canada, China, and Mexico are the foreign countries that typically send teams to the competition.

NAP members are encouraged to contact their local NAP youth group partner organizations to offer to serve as consultants and judges. It is a good way to connect with young people who are enthusiastic about the practical applications of parliamentary procedure in their social and scholastic interactions.