Stacked up against quality competitors from the United States and beyond, Cody Dugger was able to make his presence felt recently.
Dugger, an incoming senior at Elizabethton High School, finished 10th overall in medical terminology during the international HOSA competition held in Nashville during the month of June.
The competition just comes natural to Dugger, who added that he was fascinated on learning about the human brain and its functions and is looking at the possibility of pursuing a career in either psychology or neurology fields.
Taking medical terminology classes in the school always helps, too.
“I had the class for a full year,” Dugger said. “People were telling me it was a tough class and it was, but it definitely helped me out for the competition.”
Once the results started to pour in from school work, Dugger tried his hand at the regional HOSA competition, where he qualified for the international event.
“There were 100 multiple-choice questions and 20 fill-in-the-blanks during the exam at regionals,” Dugger said, adding that he finished second at that event.
Dugger was just one a handful of students to qualify for the international contest, comprised of students from the U.S. and territories away from the area, including American Samoa.
“The international test was pretty crazy,” Dugger said with a laugh. “It was a paper test on a Scantron sheet. I was in the room with 150 other people.”
And the Cyclone left his mark, rounding out as one of the top ten finalists in the contest.
“It was an amazing experience,” he said. “There were 9,500 participants for the event, working in different categories.”
Dugger also credited the success with the help of Brian Culbert, CTE director at EHS.
“He was the one that really made things happen,” Dugger said of his instructor. “He believed in me and really supports all his students. He helped make sure the trip was taken care of financially with fundraising and a state-exemption form for a hotel room. He made the experience enjoyable for me and my family.”
While school isn’t in session just yet, Dugger added he’s looking forward to seeing how he fares in the next competition, scheduled for 2017 in Orlando.