State HOSA title goes to Red Bay’s Savannah Shaw

By Brandi Miller / For the FCT

Red Bay High School senior Savannah Shaw has one more title to add to her already impressive high school resume. Shaw is the new Alabama State vice president of chapter relations for HOSA.

HOSA is a prolific organization on RBHS campus, and Shaw has been an active participant from day one of her involvement, serving as chapter president and treasurer – and now state VP of chapter relations.

Shaw has several duties in her new state position. She is tasked with updating all Alabama HOSA social media websites and social media pages periodically; visiting schools throughout the state, motivating HOSA members at those schools to be active in their chapters and informing those students about the many opportunities HOSA offers; serving in absence of the HOSA state president; being present for all meetings and conferences; and making many different decisions for the state of Alabama.

All of these duties on top of her other demands as a senior might seem overwhelming, but RBHS HOSA sponsor Dr. Kay Hargett said she has complete faith in Shaw and her abilities.

“Savannah’s presence and demeanor is one of professionalism,” said Hargett. “She encourages and motivates students, and she always strives for excellence.”

Shaw said she fell in love with HOSA from her first experience and knew it was something she wanted to pursue further during her time as a high school student.

“I first heard about HOSA when I went to the State Leadership Conference in 2016 to watch my cousin, Tate Ozbirn,  be sworn into office,” said Shaw. “I did not go to SLC and compete that year, and I was also not a member of HOSA yet. When I stepped into the auditorium, I was overwhelmed with a strong, positive and inviting energy from every school, student and advisor present. I immediately fell in love with the atmosphere that HOSA offered, and I knew from that moment that I wanted to further my own career in HOSA.”

Shaw said the most difficult part of being so involved with HOSA has been trying to balance her hectic schedule. Being a senior, she has many added responsibilities that come with just being a senior. She also plays varsity basketball, is senior class president, is a member of several other active clubs on campus and is employed at Baytree Gift Company. She is also active in her church and said she wants to spend as much time as she can with her family.

But Shaw said even though she keeps super busy, she knows the experiences she gains from HOSA will help her in the future.

“From being involved with HOSA, I have received multiple opportunities to expand my leadership,” said Shaw. “This summer I and the rest of the Career Tech Student Organization state officers had a three-day leadership seminar in Montgomery. There I had a class from eight in the morning to almost twelve at night. The instructors made the time go fast with all the fun activities that we participated in.

“We also got to learn these activities so we could take them back to our own organizations. I also had a class at ILC with all the other state officers from all 50 states.”

Shaw said students don’t have to be state officers to have access to these experiences.  “HOSA offers leadership seminars to anyone that would like to further their life skills at Joint Leadership Development Conference, State Leadership Conference and International Leadership Conference.”

Because of all her amazing experiences, Shaw said she would encourage all students to become involved with HOSA. She said HOSA welcomes new members, and there are so many different competitions to choose from that there is something for everybody.

Shaw said she wanted to thank some special people who have helped her to become successful throughout her high school career.

“I would like to thank my mom, dad (Susan and Philip Shaw) and the rest of my family for their endless support,” said Shaw. “I would not be able to be where I am today without their encouragement. I would like to thank all my teachers that have helped to shape me into the person I am today, but especially Dr. Kay Hargett for her help in my HOSA career.”

Shaw said she plans to major in science, either chemistry or biomedical science, when she attends college this fall. She then plans to apply for med school to become a cardiovascular surgeon.