Target USA CUP high school medical volunteers double as international champions

Hannah and Sophia Anderson are not only twin sisters, but they also share an international championship.

The twins, who are incoming Spring Lake Park High School seniors, competed together in the Health Occupation Students of America (HOSA) international competition on June 18-23 in Florida, taking home first place. A few weeks later, they are here at Target USA CUP, serving on the tournament’s medical team.

Hannah Anderson wants to be an emergency room doctor in the future. (NSC/Grace Tafolla)

Hannah and Sophia are OEC (Opportunities in Emergency Care) students at Spring Lake Park High School. At every single Target USA CUP, OEC students volunteer with the medical team, attending an

array of injuries throughout the nine-day tournament.

These two soon-to-be seniors are different compared to most high school students. While most students pledge to stay as far away from a textbook as possible during the summer, Hannah and Sophia were

studying for HOSA’s international competition. The competition consists of two different parts. Teams must pass a written test first before moving being tested on a real-life scenario. The scores from both parts are combined.

Sophia Anderson hopes to be a cardiothoracic surgeon one day. (NSC/Grace Tafolla)

“We’re good test takers, but we had to practice the scenarios a lot,” said Sophia. “We had a lot of support from people who had taken our EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) classes before and they helped us prepare.”

HOSA’s international competition wasn’t the first event the two competed in together. They took home third place at Minnesota’s State competition. According to Sophia, the two weren’t happy about their finish and decided they wanted to win HOSA’s international championship in June. According to Hannah, she though their goal was initially a little lofty.

“I didn’t expect to place to be honest,” said Hannah. “I was worried that since we thought the test was easy that everybody thought the test was easy. I thought the scenario didn’t go as smoothly as we hoped.”

Adding HOSA’s international title to their resumes isn’t a bad way to head into senior year. The two not only resemble one another, but they also want to follow similar career paths. Sophia hopes to become a cardiothoracic surgeon one day, and Hannah aspires to become an emergency room doctor. Participating in Spring Lake Park’s OEC program and working events like Target USA CUP helps the duo work towards their dreams.

Real-life patient care at Target USA CUP provides OEC students with opportunities most high school students don’t have. Hannah and Sophia learn information that textbooks can’t teach.

“I’m forced to apply myself in an environment I want to work in. I’ve been able to see every kind of injury ranging from treating sprained ankles to diagnosing fractured wrists,” said Hannah.

Despite growing up in Blaine, this is the first Target USA CUP the twins have worked. So far, they’ve both enjoyed being able to meet people from across the world and work with paramedics and doctors.

“It actually impacts me right now,” said Sophia. “Being able to put in environments where you’re required to do quick-thinking like this isn’t an opportunity most high school students get.”