VCU news

By Dina Weinstein

It’s fitting that aspiring physician Ria Mohan intends to use her career to advocate for equitable health care. The Virginia Commonwealth University sophomore has been pursuing that passion since her own youth.

Beginning in ninth grade, the native of Redmond, Washington, has navigated her path through HOSA-Future Health Professionals. Since 1976, the organization – initially known as the Health Occupations Students of America – has empowered future leaders in the global health community through education, collaboration, competition and experience. And Mohan has taken the leadership element to heart.

Last year, as a freshman, she started a HOSA chapter at VCU. This year, the forensic science major in the College of Humanities and Sciences will serve at the international level as HOSA president-elect.

“To find people who are part of such a strong, supportive network was really motivating for me,” Mohan said of her six-year connection to HOSA – and her interest in running for a leadership role. “It has empowered me and provided me with confidence.”

HOSA has more than 5,000 chapters around the world and helps students develop and refine their technical and teamwork skills in pursuit of health care careers. Its programs include competency-driven competitive events in categories such as health science and emergency preparedness.

Mohan’s first competitive experience in HOSA was related to medical innovation, working with professors at the University of Washington on a tuberculosis diagnostic research project. She continued challenging herself with more projects, including mentoring younger students, and took on leadership roles that required networking.

Many of the competitive events are team-based, reflecting the realities of the medical field. This year, VCU students won first- and second-place honors at the Virginia State Leadership Conference, which qualified them for international competition. The long hours of preparation supported their efforts in highlighting skills and research to their audiences.

“We’re all working toward providing quality, compassionate health care, and to do so, we need different strengths, and we need to learn different things,” Mohan said. “For example, I’m not a math person, but seeing someone compete in medical math is super-inspiring to me because I’m like, ‘Wow, that’s so cool. Could not be me, but I’m over here, competing in research poster or some other event.’”

Mohan is in the VCU Honors College and its Guaranteed Admission Program for Medicine, an eight-year program connected to VCU’s School of Medicine. She chose forensics as an undergraduate major to explore the intersection of medicine, biology, anatomy and other scientific fields, and she wants to advocate on issues such as menstrual health, tuberculosis and organ donation that have traditionally been stigmatized.

To delve further into pediatrics, Mohan volunteered at a juvenile detention center in Washington state this past summer.

“I have been able to interact with an adolescent population that not a lot of people will gravitate toward,” she said. “Being able to talk to the kids at this juvenile detention facility has shown me how I can use my forensics knowledge in a health care space, interacting with children whom a lot of people don’t pay attention to.”

This year, as HOSA president-elect, Mohan will work closely with the remaining international executive council officers and communicate with chartered associations throughout HOSA. Her calendar also is filling up with conferences: She will attend the 18th annual Washington Leadership Academy in September, where students will further their professional development, and next year’s HOSA International Leadership Conference in Nashville in June.

And looking ahead to her junior year at VCU, when she will serve as HOSA president, Mohan is grateful to uphold the organization's mission: “I intend to elevate the voices of community members to enact tangible change in bridging health care inequities.”