Two Ludington High School grads are now international champions.
They won the Health Occupation Students of America International Leadership Competition in Orlando, Florida.
9&10’s Taylor Jones spoke with the two Friday about their road to victory.
“We actually won, we were kind of in complete shock,” says Marissa Stickney.
Meet Moira and Marissa, now champions of the HOSA International Leadership Competition.
The two found out about the competition through a class they took at West Shore Community College called Allied Health.
“Both of us, we have been interested in the healthcare field for all of our high school careers,” says Moira O’Brien.
Competitors can choose a number of events to compete in.
Moira and Marissa chose CPR and First Aid.
The two competed at the regional and state levels, where they took first place and then made their way to Orlando for the international competition.
They took a written test and then put their skills to the test.
“I’m going to place my hands in the middle of the chest and I’m going to start compressions, so I’m going to do 30 compressions. Then I’m going to tilt their head back and I’m going to give them two breaths,” says Stickney.
While Marissa was doing CPR, Moira was treating a victims with third degree burns.
“I took a nonstick sterol adhesive. You don’t want the pad to be sticky because then it will stick on to the burn and peeling that off will be really painful for them,’ says O’Brien.
For each of these steps, the girls would get points.
Moira and Marissa scored high, beat out 170 other teams and took home fancy medals.
“We’re still a little surprised but it feels pretty good. We’re happy about it. It will look good in the future.
It just makes me feel so much prepared for the long road ahead in the medical field,” says O’Brien.
© 2023 - 910 Media Group
