Tes Cherian, top ten in Transcultural Health Care, and Bailey Harding, HOSA National Champion in Nursing Assisting
Bailey Harding
Winning first place at the HOSA National Leadership Conference in Nursing Assisting
Bailey Harding, the 2015 Valedictorian of Hixson High School, has won first place in a national competition with HOSA, the Healthcare Occupation Students of America. As part of the career pathways program at HHS, Ms. Harding got a jump start on her career goal of becoming a nurse practitioner by completing clinical hours at Life Care Center and Memorial Hixson. She tested for and received her CNA license in December 2014.
In her junior year as she began nursing classes at Hixson High, her teacher, Renee Parker, RN, approached Ms. Harding about competing in the HOSA competition in the field of Nursing Assisting. She accepted the challenge and placed 4th in the state of TN and 5th in the nation at the 2014 HOSA National Leadership Conference. With her resolve to finish 1st the following year, Ms. Harding spent countless hours studying and practicing nursing assisting skills in preparation for this year’s competition while maintaining the grades needed to be named Valedictorian of her senior class. She competed in the state competition in the spring, earning 1st place in Tennessee. Ms. Harding, teachers Renee Parker and Jill Moses, and 7 of her classmates traveled to the HOSA National Leadership Conference in Anaheim in June to compete in various fields of study. She and classmate Tes Cherian advanced to the top ten in their respective competitions, with Ms. Harding taking 1st place in Nursing Assisting, the only Hixson student to ever place in the top 3 nationally.
Ms. Harding was also awarded a Phillip R. Patton/HCA Scholarship at the conference, one of 15 in the nation to receive the award.
Ms. Harding will be attending Carson-Newman University this fall where she plans to major in nursing.