HOSA to Healthcare: Manteca High HOSA graduate hopes to become doctor

Saleem Safi poses with his diploma following his graduation from Manteca High School in 2019. (Photo contributed)

By SOHAIL SAFI
The Tower

From high school to medical school, Saleem Safi has always been a hardworking student. Graduating high school with a 3.9 grade-point average, Safi has been able to maintain his excellence through his time at California Northstate University in Elk Grove.

Safi graduated from the college of medicine with his bachelor’s degree in 2023, weathering the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. He has taken his talents to the snowy mountains of Colorado at Rocky Vista University, where he’s enrolled in the pre-medical school.

His journey in medicine began in 2015 as a student in the Manteca High’s HOSA program. During his four years as a Buffalo, Safi also participated in basketball and golf.

“I always looked forward to the basketball games, so my favorite memories were definitely basketball games against Sierra because of the rivalry and I had friends that played at Sierra,” he said.

When he was not on the court or course, he was doing what he loved — helping people. From an early age, Safi was always interested in the medical field and high school made this possible. He participated in HOSA and the health science pathway at Manteca High School, motivated by the health scares withing his circle of family and friends.

“Personal experiences for sure, seeing my family and people around me go through health complications and come back from them inspired me and it made me realize that I wanted to be the one helping,” Safi said.

The medical field is an extremely competitive field. However, Safi’s journey has been buoyed by the people he has met, the firsthand experience he had gained when working on the hospital floor, and the knowledge gained from HOSA.

HOSA instructor Cheryl Behler really helped light his path, providing Safi with information about the medical field and potential careers. Behler says she tries to expose students to “a range of medical fields through guest speakers, job shadowing, field trips, and hands-on experience helps students identify their interests and strengths, guiding them toward suitable career choices.”

“She was very transparent and informed me about the medical field,” Safi said, “and I have taken that advice into my further education, and it has really helped.”

Saleem Safi stands in front of a waterfall near Rocky Vista University in Colorado, shortly after transferring for medical school. Safi is a product of the Manteca High HOSA program. (Photo contributed)

Now Safi resides in Colorado where he is continuing his education at Rocky Vista University and has already been accepted into a medical school. He claims that HOSA, high school, and the health science pathway changed his life and has enabled him to continue his dream of working in the medical field.

The Tower was able to catch up with Saleem Safi to speak with him about high school and how HOSA and the health science pathway led to med school.

The Tower: How did HOSA prepare you for the medical field?

Saleem Safi: HOSA and the medical career pathway at MHS prepared me for the medical field as it gave me a first-hand experience on the hospital floor and gave me opportunities I wouldn’t have had before.

TT: In what ways did your experiences in HOSA shape your future?

SS: HOSA shaped my future because it further established my love for the medical field and gave me confirmation that this is what I wanted to do.

TT: What year of high school was the most important for you?

SS: My junior year of high school was the most important for me because it was the first time I was on the hospital floor and that was my first time experiencing anything like that, so it really solidified my career choice and that was my best golf and basketball year.

TT: Going into college, what is the biggest change from high school?

SS: Going into college and med school from high school the biggest change is the workload with the amount of time, so we have a similar amount of time to get work done with lots more to do.